LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) Observation Campaign: Strategies, Implementation, and Lessons Learned

• DOI: 10.1007/s11214-011-9759-y
• Publication Date: 2011-03-17T16:54:16Z
• Authors: Jennifer L. Heldmann; Anthony Colaprete; Diane H. Wooden; Robert F. Ackermann; David D. Acton; Peter R. Backus; Vanessa Bailey; Jesse G. Ball; William C. Barott; Samantha K. Blair; Marc W. Buie; Shawn Callahan; Nancy J. Chanover; Young-Jun Choi; Al Conrad; Dolores M. Coulson; Kirk B. Crawford; Russell DeHart; Imke de Pater; Michael Disanti; James R. Forster; Reiko Furusho; Tetsuharu Fuse; Tom Geballe; J. Duane Gibson; David Goldstein; Stephen A. Gregory; David J. Gutierrez; Ryan T. Hamilton; Taiga Hamura; David E. Harker; Gerry R. Harp; Junichi Haruyama; Morag Hastie; Yutaka Hayano; Phillip Hinz; Peng K. Hong; Steven P. James; Toshihiko Kadono; Hideyo Kawakita; Michael S. Kelley; Daryl L. Kim; Kosuke Kurosawa; Duk-Hang Lee; Michael Long; Paul G. Lucey; Keith Marach; Anthony C. Matulonis; Richard M. McDermid; Russet McMillan; Charles Miller; Hong-Kyu Moon; Ryosuke Nakamura; Hirotomo Noda; Natsuko Okamura; Lawrence Ong; Dallan Porter; Jeffery J. Puschell; John T. Rayner; J. Jedadiah Rembold; Katherine C. Roth; Richard J. Rudy; Ray W. Russell; Eileen V. Ryan; William H. Ryan; Tomohiko Sekiguchi; Yasuhito Sekine; Mark A. Skinner; Mitsuru Sôma; Andrew W. Stephens; Alex Storrs; Robert M. Suggs; Seiji Sugita; Eon-Chang Sung; Naruhisa Takatoh; Jill C. Tarter; Scott M. Taylor; Hiroshi Terada; Chadwick J. Trujillo; Vidhya Vaitheeswaran; Faith Vilas; Brian D. Walls; Jun-ihi Watanabe; William J. Welch; Charles E. Woodward; Hong-Suh Yim; Eliot F. Young
• Keywords: Space and Planetary Science; 13. Climate action; 0103 physical sciences; Astronomy and Astrophysics; 15. Life on land; 01 natural sciences

NASA’s LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) mission was designed to explore the nature of previously detected enhanced levels of hydrogen near the lunar poles. The LCROSS mission impacted the spent upper stage of the launch vehicle into a permanently shadowed region of the lunar surface to create an ejecta plume. The resultant impact crater and plume were then observed by the LCROSS Shepherding Spacecraft as well as a cadre of telescopes on the Earth and in space to determine the nature of the materials contained within the permanently shadowed region. The Shepherding Spacecraft then became a second impactor which was also observed by multiple assets.