• → European Space Agency

    • About Science & Technology

    • For Public

    • For Educators

    • ESA

    • Science & Technology

    • SMART-1

    • Missions
    • Show All Missions
    • Mission Home
    • Summary
    • Fact Sheet
    • Objectives
    • Mission Team
    • Orbit View
    • Presentations
    • Background Science
    • Electric Spacecraft Propulsion
    • Moon
    • Spacecraft
    • 3D Model
    • Instruments
    • Mission Operations
    • Launch Vehicle
    • SMART-1 Launch Campaign
    • Launch Phase
    • Lunar Capture
    • Lunar Orbit
    • Lunar Impact
    • Status Reports
    • Mission Background
    • Science Operations
    • Data Archive
    • Resources
    • News Archive
    • Multimedia Gallery
    • Publication Archive
    • Calendar of Events
    • Services
    • Contact Us
    • Subscribe
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Bookmark and Share

    SMART-1 images of new target site of upcoming LCROSS impact

    08 Oct 2009

    ESA's SMART-1 team has released new images of the proposed impact site of NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), after the LCROSS team announced a new target last week. LCROSS will search for water ice on the Moon by making two impacts into the Cabeus crater at the lunar South Pole. The impacts are scheduled for 11:31 and 11:35 am UT on 9 October 2009.

    Left: SMART-1/AMIE mosaic of lunar surface at the new LCROSS target impact site (red dots): crater Cabeus. Credit: B. Grieger, B.H. Foing & ESA/SMART-1/AMIE team  Right: Artist's impression of the LCROSS spacecraft and Centaur separation. Credit: NASA

    The new images have been retrieved from the SMART-1 database by Bjoern Grieger, the liaison scientist for SMART-1's AMIE camera, and Project Scientist Bernard Foing. The SMART-1 images are at high resolution as the spacecraft was near its closest distance of 500 km from the South Pole. The SMART-1 images of LCROSS potential targets were discussed on 18 September at sessions devoted to lunar science at the European Planetary Science Congress (EPSC) in Potsdam, Germany.

    The position of the SMART-1/AMIE mosaic images (red) indicated on a map of the Moon's southern hemisphere.
    Credit: B. Grieger & ESA

    The LCROSS target was selected as the optimal location for that mission's evaluation of whether water ice exists at the lunar South Pole. The interior of Cabeus is permanently in shadow, so ice lying inside the crater is protected from the Sun's harsh rays.  LCROSS will send the upper stage Centaur rocket crashing into Cabeus. A shepherd spacecraft will fly into the plume of dust generated by this first impact and measure its properties before making a second impact with the lunar surface.  Astronomers will observe both impacts using ground and space-based telescopes.

    The SMART-1 spacecraft also concluded its mission with a controlled impact on 3 September 2006. The event was observed with ground-based telescopes (a 'dry run' for LCROSS) and the flash from the impact was detected at infrared wavelengths.

    Contact

    Bernard H. Foing, ESA SMART-1 Project Scientist
    E-mail: Bernard.Foingesa.int

    Bjoern Grieger, SMART-1 AMIE Liaison Scientist, ESAC
    Email: Bjoern.Griegeresa.int


    Last Update: 13 Oct 2009

    • Shortcut URL
    • http://sci.esa.int/jump.cfm?oid=45686
    • Images and Videos
    • New LCROSS impact target Cabeus
    • Context map of SMART-1/AMIE mosaic
    • Related Links
    • SMART-1 website
    • SMART-1 (In depth)
    • LCROSS website
    • SMART-1 Lunar south polar maps
    • SMART-1 impact
    • International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG)
    • Europlanet press release

    Connect with us

    • RSS
    • Youtube
    • Twitter
    • Flickr
    • Google Buzz
    • Livestream
    • Subscribe
    • App Store
    • ESA Science Twitter

    Follow ESA science

    • Copyright 2000 - 2013 © European Space Agency. All rights reserved.

    • Terms and Conditions