Watch NASA Crash Two Orbiters Into the Moon

Update, 5:42 pm Eastern: It wasn't quite the jubilation we saw this summer when NASA landed the Curiosity Rover on Mars, but scientists behind the GRAIL mission congratulated each other on a job well done this afternoon after the two orbiters successfully smashed into the moon. Afterward, project head Maria Zuber said NASA plans to name the impact site after the late Sally Ride. Her sister, Karen "Bear" Ride, said now "there's a little corner of the moon that's named for Sally.

As for GRAIL, Zuber says the orbiters Ebb and Flow "have removed the viel from the moon," and their data will inform research into the history of our natural satellite for years to come.

The GRAIL orbiters' death plunge into the moon. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC/ASU

This afternoon two NASA spacecraft will plunge to their deaths, smashing into oblivion against the surface of the moon. This is no mission gone wrong; rather, it's the planned end to a successful endeavor to learn more about the story of the moon.

The two orbiters, fittingly named Ebb and Flow, are part of the NASA Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission. Launched last year, the pair orbited the moon in tandem in 2012 to use slight gravitational perturbations to understand the lunar interior. For instance, if one of the two drew near to a mountain or other massive formation, the formation's pull would cause the nearer spacecraft to speed up ever-so-slightly. The GRAIL orbiters could detect their own positions to within the width of a human hair, so they would notice those minute differences and use them to map the moon.

Now, though, Ebb and Flow are out of fuel. To make sure the two spacecraft don't crash anywhere where they'd cause a problem (like if they fell on the Apollo landing sites), NASA will planning to slam Ebb and Flow into the surface of the moon near its north pole. Impact is scheduled for 5:28 pm Eastern time, and NASA will live-stream it.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/how-to/blog/watch-nasa-crash-two-orbiters-into-the-moon-14869371?src=rss

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