Moon-bound twin GRAIL spacecraft launched this morning! These twin GRAIL spacecraft are setting out on a mission to map the Moon’s gravity. Here’s how it will work, from EarthSky: Here’s how GRAIL’s gravity-mapping ability works. As one body in space orbits another, changes in the larger body’s topography – its hills and valleys, for example – minutely affect the orbital path of the smaller body by slightly increasing or decreasing the amount of gravity exerted upon it. As GRAIL records these changes, it will reveal details about mountains, craters, and other features on the moon, including those below the moon’s surface. Once arriving at the moon, the twins will spend about two months sliding into orbit with GRAIL B following GRAIL A. After the proper orbit is established, an instrument on board each craft will measure relative changes in velocity, which can then be translated to map lunar gravity. The instruments are so precise they can detect a change in the distance between the two GRAIL orbiters the diameter of a red blood cell. That’s some sensitive machinery, eh? (via EarthSky)
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Moon-bound twin GRAIL spacecraft launched this morning!

These twin GRAIL spacecraft are setting out on a mission to map the Moon’s gravity. Here’s how it will work, from EarthSky:

Here’s how GRAIL’s gravity-mapping ability works. As one body in space orbits another, changes in the larger body’s topography – its hills and valleys, for example – minutely affect the orbital path of the smaller body by slightly increasing or decreasing the amount of gravity exerted upon it. As GRAIL records these changes, it will reveal details about mountains, craters, and other features on the moon, including those below the moon’s surface.

Once arriving at the moon, the twins will spend about two months sliding into orbit with GRAIL B following GRAIL A. After the proper orbit is established, an instrument on board each craft will measure relative changes in velocity, which can then be translated to map lunar gravity. The instruments are so precise they can detect a change in the distance between the two GRAIL orbiters the diameter of a red blood cell.

That’s some sensitive machinery, eh?

(via EarthSky)

Source: earthsky.org

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