Planetary Science
LCROSS
DecayedPlanetary ScienceLunar
The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) was a robotic spacecraft operated by NASA. The mission was conceived as a low-cost means of determining the nature of hydrogen detected at the polar regions of the Moon. Launched immediately after discovery of lunar water by Chandrayaan-1, the main LCROSS mission objective was to further explore the presence of water in the form of ice in a permanently shadowed crater near a lunar polar region. It was successful in confirming water in the southern lunar crater Cabeus.
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Launch
- Launch date
- June 18, 2009 at 09:32 PM UTC
- Launch site
- Cape Canaveral SFS, USA
- Launched by
- Atlas V 401 →
- Operator
- United Launch Alliance
- Mission
- LRO/LCROSS
- Launch record
- View full launch →
Trajectory
- Regime
- Interplanetary — Lunar
- Reference body
- Lunar
Spacecraft
- Operator
- United States
- Launch mass
- 891 kg
Identity
- COSPAR (Int'l)
- 2009-031B
- NORAD catalog №
- 35316
- Object type
- Payload
- Owner / operator
United States- Status
- Decayed
- Decay / reentry
- October 9, 2009
End of mission
- Last active / ended
- October 9, 2009
- Time in service
- 113 days
- Fate
- Mission ended at Lunar.
- Final status
- Decayed