China Plans Mars Mission – China has drawn up a technical plan for an independent Mars orbiter exploration project, space technology experts said. Based on research conducted by the China Academy of Space Technology, the plan envisions a launch date as early as 2013, Huang Jiangchuan, a scientist with the academy, was quoted by Beijing-based Science and Technology Daily. The Mars probe will be sent to an Earth-Mars transfer orbit first, and then fly about 10 months before entering an elliptical orbit around Mars. The Mars exploration will last one to two years, he said. -Daily Galaxy

LRO/LCROSS’ Discoveries Prove Obama’s Lunar Policy is Flawed – It has been about a year since scientists announced the discovery of water on the moon. On Thursday, Oct. 21 they revealed new data uncovered by NASA’s Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). -Jason Rhian / America Space

Rethinking Habitability – Astronomers are re-thinking the requirements that need to be met for an exoplanet to be considered ‘habitable.’ A new simulation of the Gliese 581 system is helping astrobiologists refine their search for Earth-like worlds in the Universe. Gleise 581 recently made news because a planet could be orbiting within the system’s habitable zone. -Jon Voisey / Astrobiology Magazine

Life aboard the International Space Station – It’s 10 years since the first crew entered the International Space Station 360 km above the Earth. But what is it like aboard a big tin can traveling at 28,200 km/s? -Ian Sample/Guardian

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Soyuz 24S

Moon in daylight

NGC 1806

Lake Malawi, Great Rift Valley

Gallery Pick of the Day

San Francisco bay area from the International Space Station - Credit: Douglas H. Wheelock / Expedition 25 / NASA

The photo above is “Pick of the Day” from one of the three galleries: Astronomy Gallery, Space Shuttle Gallery and Space Station Gallery.

Call for media: reacting to threat of asteroid impacts – How would the world react to the threat of an asteroid impact? The media are invited to meet top-level experts at ESA’s space operations centre in Germany on 29 October to find out more. -ESA

Understanding the Unusual LCROSS Ejecta Plume – LCROSS was an unusual mission, in that it relied on an impact to be able to study a planetary body. Not only was the mission unusual, but so was the ejecta plume produced by slamming a hollow Centaur rocket booster into the Moon. “A normal impact throws debris out more than up, like an inverted lampshade that gets wider and wider as it goes out,” said Pete Schultz, from Brown University and a member of the LCROSS science team. -Nancy Atkinson / Universe Today

NASA Missions Uncover The Moon’s Buried Treasures – Nearly a year after announcing the discovery of water molecules on the moon, scientists Thursday revealed new data uncovered by NASA’s Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO. -NASA/LCROSS

New Cometary Phenomenon Greets Approaching Spacecraft – Recent observations of comet Hartley 2 have scientists scratching their heads, while they anticipate a flyby of the small, icy world on Nov. 4. -NASA/JPL

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Active Region SN1112

Bubble and M52

Isla de Margarita, Isla Cubagua, Coche, Sucre

The Bechar Basin of northwest Algeria

Gallery Pick of the Day

Titan is precisely twice as far from Cassini than Rhea here. As a result, in relative size Rhea appears exactly 2x larger than it actually is, compared to Titan's size. - Credit: NASA/Cassini

The photo above is “Pick of the Day” from one of the three galleries: Astronomy Gallery, Space Shuttle Gallery and Space Station Gallery.

First data from LCROSS impacts are coming in. Athony Colaprete, LCROSS Principal Investigator (NASA Ames), confirmed during NASA/LCROSS press conference that

We saw the impact, we saw the crater, we got spectroscopic data, which is the data we need.

Centaur impact flash detected by the Mid IR camera from 600 km above the surface - Source: NASA TV

Centaur impact detected by visible spectrometer - Source: NASA TV

Jennifer Heldmann, LCROSS Observation Campaign Lead (NASA Ames), said that there is observation data from over 20 land sites as well as the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and other observatories in Earth’s orbit.

Lunar crater Cabeus were taken on October 9, 2009 with the Palomar Observatory's 200-inch (5-meter) Hale Telescope and its Adaptive Optics - Source: Palomar Observatory/Antonin Bouchez

The public was somewhat disappointed by not seeing the ejecta plume. Although the scientists have confirmed the impact and seen a crater, there are several explanations for the lack of plumes. One could be simply that the ejecta did not “fly” high enough above the surface to escape the shadows of lunar surface. Alternatively, the ejected material could have been too faint and too spread out to be observable from almost 400,000 km. Nevertheless, Colaprete emphasized that scientific instruments were primarily focused on collecting spectra and that the first look at the data shows signs of ejected material.

An artist's impression of the LCROSS spacecraft's Centaur stage crashing into the surface of the Moon. The LCROSS spaceraft will observe and record the impact and then it also will crash into the crater - Image Credit: NASA

Immediately after the LRO/LCROSS launch on June 18, science illiterate members of the blog community started a campaign to stop NASA from “Bombing the Moon”; an act, which, according to them, was in a clear violation of the UN resolution 2222 written in the 1499th plenary meeting on December 19, 1966 – Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies. I will not support this insanity by providing links here (just google “NASA Moon bombing”).

The arguments on blogs range from the creation of (up to) 8km deep crater, to the bombing constituting a hostile act against known extraterrestrial civilizations and settlements on the Moon allegedly observed by the crew of Apollo 11 (seriously?). Several magazines and newspapers (the likes of Scientific American, the Examiner and the UK Telegraph – no surprise there) jumped on the bandwagon featuring articles with an unfortunate (but I suspect a rather deliberate) word choice – “Moon bombing”.

Bombing can be defined as detonation (on impact) of an explosive devise producing a chemical action which causes a sudden formation of a great volume of expanded gas. In other words, nothing close to the events which are about to occur near the Moon’s south pole.

Let me assure you: the Moon is hit by space junk on regular basis. It has withstood this bombardment for billions of years and it will prevail for many billions to come. The flash in the sequence below was caused by a meteoroid about 25 cm in diameter traveling at 38 km/s. As such, although much smaller than either the (S-S/C) and the Centaur, the energy released in the impact is comparable with tomorrows impacts because this piece of rock was traveling fifteen times faster than LCROSS.

A meteoroid hits the Moon, May 2, 2006; video-recorded by MSFC engineers Heather McNamara and Danielle Moser.

The Centaur upper stage will impact the lunar surface at around 11:31:20 UTC at -84.675, 311.275 E (in selenographical coordinates). NASA estimates the impact velocity of 2.5 km/s which will excavate more than 350 tonnes of lunar material and create a crater 20m in diameter with a depth of about 4m; in other words, nowhere near the sensational 8km (given the crater size, not even the Hubble Space Telescope will be able to see it under ideal conditions).

Using the nominal impact mass of 2,305kg and the velocity of 2.5km/s the kinetic energy of the spacecraft can be easily calculated as

Since a kiloton of TNT is equivalent to , the total energy released in the impact (under ideal conditions) is kiloton of TNT; again, nowhere close to the 2 kiloton of TNT (which equals to 10% of the yield of the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima) claimed by some authors. Furthermore, both the S-S/C and Centaur performed a blow-down maneuver to vent any remaining fuel inside the Centaur to help prevent contamination of the impact site and the ejecta material, thus there will be no explosion.

The Shepherding Spacecraft will impact the lunar surface roughly four minutes after the Centaur upper stage, at around 11:35:39 UTC at -84.729, 310.64 E, ejecting about 150 tonnes or material leaving behind a crater 14m wide and 2m deep.

LCROSS Shepherding Spacecraft and Centaur upper stage impact sites - Source: NASA

As for the last argument, if you truly believe in the conspiracy to cover up the presence of an extraterrestrial civilizations on the Moon, reported in witnessed statements by astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong, and in witnessed statements to NSA (National Security Agency) photos and documents regarding an extraterrestrial base on the dark side of the Moon (let’s forget for a second that there is NO such thing as the “dark” side of the Moon), I applaud you for reading this far and let’s just leave it at that…

This swingby was the first test of the Medium Gain Antenna (MGA) to support high science rate. The data handling unit (DHU) and other scientific instruments were powered up for the first time. During the first 30 minutes of the coverage, the spacecraft collected data from three targets on the lunar surface for 5 minutes each (with short slews in between). First, the instruments turned to Mendeleev (Lat 5.7°N,Lon 140.9°E), a large ancient impact basin with uniform floor deposits. The uniformity of Mendeleev provided a good calibration target for onboard down-looking instruments.

The Medeleev crater - Source: NASA LCROSS

At 12:30 UTC the spacecraft started data collection from surface target #2 – the Goddard crater located in the north region of Mare Marginis. The actual target, Goddard C, is a worn iron-rich crater with mare basalt flows mixed with rugged highlands-type material approximately 49km in diameter.

LCROSS collecting data from the Goddard C crater at an altitude of 8713km above the lunar surface - Source: NASA LCROSS

Finally, at around 12:40 UTC, the onboard instruments were pointed at the Giordano Bruno (Lat 35.9°N, 102.8°E) from the altitude of 9351 km above the surface.

After the data collection from surface targets was completed, the LCROSS carried out a series of lunar limb observations, a technique used for alignment.

After the swingby, the LCROSS spacecraft entered approximately 4-month long cruising phase during which it will perform 6 planned trajectory correction manuevers (TCM) and 3 science payload calibrations (SciCal). The last two TCMs are planned for the final targeting phase at T-72 hours and at T-11 hours before the impact on October 9.

Update 1: The live LCROSS telemetry-based spacecraft animation and the visible camera images will be available at LCROSS mission page.

Last Thursday at 21:32 UTC NASA launched the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) aboard the Atlas V (401) rocket. Tomorrow, after five days in space, the LCROSS spacecraft will fly by the moon and enter into a Lunar Gravity Assist, Lunar Return Orbit (LGALRO) to position it for impact with the target lunar pole.

Graphic visualizations of the early part of the LCROSS orbit leading up to lunar swingby at Launch +5 days - Source: NASA

NASA will provide a live coverage of the event via NASA TV. The lunar swingby video stream coverage will begin approximately at 12:20 UTC. The instruments aboard LCROSS will be transmitting data back to Earth for about one hour. The first half of the live coverage will provide a view the lunar surface from an altitude of approximately 9,000 km. The expected video feed frame rate is one frame per second during this phase. In the second half, the spacecraft will perform various tasks and calibrate the onboard instruments and therefore the video feed will be updated only occasionally. The 3D visualization stream will show the spacecraft position and attitude throughout the swingby.

For the latest news follow LCROSS on Twitter or visit the LCROSS blog at NASA blogs.

Update 2: LRO will reach the Moon on Tuesday as 09:43 UTC.

Update 1: Official launch photos are now available on NASA Blogs and NASA Flickr stream.

Today at 21:32:00.1 UTC (after the two earlier launch windows closed due to lightning in the area), NASA launched the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) aboard the United Launch Alliance Atlas V (in configuration 401) rocket from the Space Launch Complex 41 at Merritt Island, Cape Canaveral, Florida. Along with the LRO, Atlas V also carried the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) attached to the Centaur rocket.

More launch photos are available at my Flickr Feed

Atlas V liftoff from Space Launch Complex 41 with LRO and LCROSS aboard - Source: NASA TV

Atlas V - Ignition - Source: NASA TV

Moments before Atlas / Centaur Separation - Source: NASA TV

The Atlas/Centaur Separation occurred at T+4 minutes and 10 seconds. At T+ 45 min the LRO Spacecraft separated from LCROSS and at about T+90 minutes LRO achieved the translunar trajectory. Within the next 24 hours the mission controllers will execute a planned mid-course correction (MCC) to LRO’s the trajectory.

LRO / LCROSS Launch Configuration - Source: NASA

After approximately four days, the lunar orbit insertion (LOI) sequence, consisting of a large LOI-1 maneuver followed by a series of smaller LO1 maneuvers, will place the spacecraft into a 30km x 216km commissioning orbit. LRO will enter its operational circular polar orbit 50 km above the lunar surface after approximately 60 days of spacecraft checkout and instruments calibrations.

LRO Lunar Orbit Insertion and the commissioning orbit - Source: NASA TV

LRO’s primary mission objectives are to create a comprehensive atlas of the moon’s features, find possible landing sites, locate potential resources, and test new technology. The mission will help to set the stage for further exploration of the Moon which will hopefully result in establishing a permanent human presence on the lunar surface.

After the separation from LRO, the LCROSS spacecraft will retain the Atlas V’s Centaur upper stage rocket and use it as the primary impactor for the mission. After sufficient distance from LRO is achieved, the LRO/Centaur duo will perform a maneuver to dump remaining fuel to prevent contamination of the impact site. After five days, the spacecraft and the Centaur will execute a flyby of the moon and enter into an elongated Earth orbit to position LCROSS for impact on a lunar pole.

LCROSS enters elongated Earth orbit placing LCROSS on the path to impact on a lunar pole - Source: NASA TV

On final approach, approximately 9 hours and 40 minutes before the first impact, LCROSS and the Centaur will separate. LCROSS will execute a 180-degrees turn around to position its instruments towards the impact. The Centaur will act as the first impactor to create a debris plume with some of the heavier material reaching a height of up to 10 km above the lunar surface. Following four minutes behind, the LCROSS will fly through the impact ejecta to collect data and relay it back to Earth before impacting the lunar surface.

LCROSS - Centaur separation - Source: NASA TV

The Centaur impact crater is expected to be approximately 27 m in diameter and 5m deep, while the LCROSS spacecraft impact crater is expected to be approximately 18 m in diameter and 3 m deep. The impact is expected to create a very brief visible flash lasting less than 100 milliseconds. Most of the impact ejecta will be thrown upward at a velocity of more than 250 m/s reaching altitude of up to 10-15km above lunar surface.

Centaur rocket is about to meet its doom - Source: NASA TV

Centaur impact the Moon - Source: NASA TV

Currently, the impact is planned for October 9, 2009. The LRO spacecraft will be joined by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) as well as many ground-based observatories in Hawaii, Arizona, South Africa and Japan in observing the impact. In the following days, the LCROSS team will announce the lunar pole and the primary target crater. Factoring any additional information (such as lunar libration) a final determination of the target crater will be made 30 days before impact.

LCROSS Impact Ground Observation Sites - Source: NASA TV

The primary mission objective for the LCROSS mission is to measure the concentration of water ice (ice to dust ratio) in permanently unlit lunar regolith or soil. Other objectives include identifying the cause of the hydrogen signatures previously detected at the lunar poles and determining the composition of the regolith in one of the moon’s permanently shadowed crater.

Altas V Tribute Plaque - Source: NASA TV

The Atlas V rocket carries a memorial plaque for J.Bob Reiss – life-long NASA employee who spent his career working on the Atlas rocket and was instrumental in the success off missions such as the Viking, Cassini and recently launched (January 19, 2006) the New Horizons.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center will have live mission coverage of LRO’s lunar orbit insertion (LOI) on NASA TV. Mission images, video, and animations are available for both the LRO and the LCROSS. You can follow mission twitter feeds at LRO_NASA and LCROSS_NASA