Thursday / 21 March 2013

LRO Helps Enhance GRAIL Legacy

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GRAIL Impact Craters Imaged By LROC; Twin 200-kg Orbiters Crashed Near North Pole On 17 Dec 2012 At Speed Of 6,070 km/h; Coordination Between 2 Mission Teams Allowed LRO LAMP Instrument To Analyze Ejecta Plume From Crash; Instrument Detected Mercury, Surprising For Sunlit Area; Results Added To Growing Understanding Of Nature Of Volatiles At Lunar Poles & How They Are Transported Around Moon

Image Credit: NASA