|
GRAIL
Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory
Lockheed Martin
Space Systems, Denver, CO
Launch: September
10, 2011
@ 9:08:52 am EDT |
|
Engineer's graphic of GRAIL |
|
|
 ©
2005-2011, i/ota Internet Services
All rights reserve |
|
The
Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, will fly
twin spacecraft in tandem around the Moon to precisely measure
and map variations in the Moon's gravitational field. The
mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to
date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information
will reveal differences in the density of the Moon's crust and
mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the
Moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of
collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the Moon's gravity
field so completely that future Moon vehicles can safely
navigate anywhere on the Moon’s surface. |
