NASA Sending Two Spacecraft to the Moon

NASA will be launching two spacecraft to the Moon on June 17, 2009. NASA will launch its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and its Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) from an Atlas V rocket at the Kennedy Space Center.

The two spacecraft will separate once they reach lunar orbit.

The LRO will orbit about 30 miles above the Moon's surface for 12 months. It will spend this time obtaining data about the Moon and creating a map of the Moon. It will study the environment, including the lunar poles, search for resources and identify safe landing sites.

The LRO will show the conditions of the six Apollo landing sites.

The LCROSS mission is designed to look for water on the Moon. Around October, the expended upper stage of a Centaur rocket will be slammed into a crater on the Moon. A sheparding craft will analyze the resulting debris, checking for the presence of water ice or hydrated minerals. The shepard will have a camera with which it will make a recording of the impact. Eventually, the shepard will also crash into the Moon.

NASA plans to establish a permanent base on the Moon.

Television coverage of the launch will being at 1PM Eastern Daylight Time.