Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer
 Artist's interpretation of the LADEE spacecraft |
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| Operator | NASA |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Orbiter |
| Satellite of | The Moon |
| Launch date | May 2013 [1] |
| Carrier rocket | Minotaur V |
| Launch site | Wallops Flight Facility Wallops Island, Virginia |
| Mission duration | 100 days nominal, up to 9 months expected |
| COSPAR ID | LADEE |
| Mass | 330 kg |
| Power | 100 W |
| Orbital elements | |
| Eccentricity | Near-circular |
| Inclination | Retrograde equatorial orbit |
| Altitude | 50 km |
| Orbital period | 113 minutes |
The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) is a space exploration mission scheduled for launch in early 2013[2]. To carry out the mission NASA will send a robotic spacecraft into orbit around the Moon, and use instruments aboard the spacecraft to study the Moon's atmosphere and dust in the Moon's vicinity. Instruments will include a dust detector, a neutral mass spectrometer, an ultraviolet-visible spectrometer, and recently announced, a laser communications (lasercomm) terminal. LADEE was announced during the presentation of NASA's FY09 budget in February 2008. It will be launched aboard a Minotaur V from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.
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[edit] Mission objectives
LADEE is a strategic mission that will address three major science goals:[3]
- Determine the global density, composition, and time variability of the fragile lunar atmosphere before it is perturbed by further human activity;
- Determine if the Apollo astronaut sightings of diffuse emission at 10s of km above the surface were Na glow or dust and;
- Document the dust impactor environment (size-frequency) to help guide design engineering for the outpost and also future robotic missions.
[edit] Launch
LADEE is scheduled for launch in May 2013 out of the Wallops Flight Facility on a Minotaur V carrier rocket.[4]
[edit] Propulsion system
The LADEE propulsion system will consist of an orbit control system (OCS) and a reaction control system (RCS). The OCS will provide velocity control along the +Z axis for large velocity adjustments. The RCS will provide three-axis attitude control during burns of the OCS system, and will also provide momentum dumps for the reaction wheels which are the primary attitude control system between OCS burns.[4]
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The LADEE spacecraft, as conceived in August 2009.
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The Modular Common Spacecraft Bus that will become LADEE, being tested at NASA Ames Research Center in 2008.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.marsspaceport.com/launch-manifest
- ^ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=LADEE
- ^ "NASA Solicitation: Instruments for LADEE Lunar Mission". SpaceRef. March 25, 2008. http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=27450. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
- ^ a b "Statement of Work - LADEE Spacecraft Propulsion System". NASA ARC. Aug 27, 2009. http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/eps/eps_data/137365-SOL-001-003.doc.
[edit] External links
- NASA — Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE)
- NASA LADEE Mission page
- LADEE at NASA Science
- MIT's Lincoln Lab, lasercomm terminal development
- NASA's Lunar Science Program - Feb 27, 2008 - Kelly Snook
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