Mapping the Moon's Hidden Interior Through Gravity
In short: To understand the Moon's past, scientists must look beneath its surface. By measuring tiny variations in gravity, NASA's GRAIL mission aims to map the lunar interior from crust to core, revealing a history of thermal evolution and asteroid collisions that are otherwise invisible to the eye.
The GRAIL (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory) mission utilizes a dual-spacecraft system consisting of two identical probes, named Ebb and Flow. These spacecraft were designed to fly in tandem around the Moon to detect minute fluctuations in the lunar gravitational field. As the probes pass over areas of varying density, they move slightly toward or away from each other; instruments then measure these changes in relative velocity to create a high-resolution gravity map.
This data provides a window into the Moon's internal structure, specifically revealing differences in the density of the crust and mantle. By analyzing these gravitational signatures, scientists can reconstruct the Moon's thermal evolution and its history of collisions with asteroids. The precision of this mapping is intended to be so complete that it will eventually allow future lunar vehicles to navigate safely across any part of the lunar surface.
The mission's methodology is an evolution of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), which mapped Earth's gravity from 2002 to 2017. GRAIL's hardware incorporates avionics derived from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and a design evolution of the Air Force's XSS-11 satellite. Following its primary science phase, the mission was designed to conclude with the purposeful crashing of both probes on the lunar surface to prevent any orbital debris.
The mission was scheduled for launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on September 8, 2011, with a primary science phase lasting approximately three months. Fourth-grade pupils from Bozeman, Montana's Emily Dickinson Elementary School, chose the spacecraft titles during a competition held across the nation.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: GRAIL Launch to Moon Nears
- Also: GRAIL (Ebb and Flow) - NASA Science
- Also: GRAIL Heads to the Moon - NASA
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