Double Moonshot

NASA has added a secondary spacecraft mission to its planned 2008 launch of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission is designed by the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA and is explained in this NASA press release.

After launch, the secondary payload LCROSS spacecraft will arrive in the lunar vicinity independent of the LRO satellite. On the way to the moon, the LCROSS spacecraft's two main parts, the Shepherding Spacecraft (S-S/C) and the Earth Departure Upper Stage (EDUS), will remain coupled.

As the spacecraft approaches the moon's south pole, the upper stage will separate, and then will impact a crater in the south pole area. A plume from the upper stage crash will develop as the Shepherding Spacecraft heads in toward the moon. The Shepherding Spacecraft will fly through the plume, and instruments on the spacecraft will analyze the cloud to look for signs of water and other compounds. Additional space and Earth-based instruments also will study the 2.2-million-pound (1000-metric-ton) plume.

NASA added the option for a secondary payload since an Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) launch allows for additional payload weight in addition to LRO. This proposal was selected from nineteen responses to NASA's request and provides an innovative, economical and timely way to obtain additional data vital for future human lunar exploration and development.