Jan. 10, 2008
Beth Dickey/Stephanie Schierholz
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2087/4997
beth.dickey-1@nasa.gov, stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov
Nancy Neal Jones
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-0039
nancy.n.jones@nasa.gov
RELEASE: 08-004
NASA’S NEXT MOON MISSION SPACECRAFT UNDERGOING CRITICAL TESTS
GREENBELT, Md. - NASA’s next mission to Earth’s closest astronomical
body is in the midst of integration and testing at NASA’s Goddard
Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The Lunar Reconnaissance
Orbiter, known as LRO, will spend at least a year mapping the surface
of the moon. Data from the orbiter will help NASA select safe landing
sites for astronauts, identify lunar resources and study how the
moon’s environment will affect humans.
Engineers at Goddard are building the orbiter and rigorously testing
spacecraft components to ready them for the harsh environment of
space. After a component or entire subsystem is qualified, it is
integrated into the LRO spacecraft. The core suite of avionics for
the orbiter is assembled and undergoing system tests.
“This is a major milestone for the mission,” said Craig Tooley, LRO
project manager at Goddard. “Our team has been working nearly around
the clock to get us to this point. Reaching this milestone keeps us
on the path to sending LRO to the moon later this year.”
Various components of the avionics and mechanical subsystem are in
the
process of going through their qualification program. Six instruments
and one technology demonstration aboard the spacecraft will provide
important data to enable a safe and productive human return to the
moon. The six instruments are scheduled to arrive at Goddard in the
coming months for integration.
The spacecraft will ship to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla., in
August in preparation for launch. The orbiter and the Lunar Crater
Observation and Sensing Satellite will launch aboard an Atlas V
rocket in late 2008. The trip to the moon will take approximately
four days. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter initially will enter an
elliptical orbit, also called the commissioning orbit. Once moved
into its final orbit, a circular polar orbit approximately 31 miles
above the moon, the spacecraft’s instruments will map the lunar
surface.
For more information about the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, visit:
For more information about NASA’s exploration program to the moon and
beyond, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/exploration
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