Watch NASA Crash Two Orbiters Into the Moon

The GRAIL orbiters' death plunge into the moon. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC/ASU

This afternoon two NASA spacecraft will plunge to their deaths, smashing into oblivion against the surface of the moon. This is no mission gone wrong; rather, it's the planned end to a successful endeavor to learn more about the story of the moon.

The two orbiters, fittingly named Ebb and Flow, are part of the NASA Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission. Launched last year, the pair orbited the moon in tandem in 2012 to use slight gravitational perturbations to understand the lunar interior. For instance, if one of the two drew near to a mountain or other massive formation, the formation's pull would cause the nearer spacecraft to speed up ever-so-slightly. The GRAIL orbiters could detect their own positions to within the width of a human hair, so they would notice those minute differences and use them to map the moon.

Now, though, Ebb and Flow are out of fuel. To make sure the two spacecraft don't crash anywhere where they'd cause a problem (like if they fell on the Apollo landing sites), NASA will planning to slam Ebb and Flow into the surface of the moon near its north pole. Impact is scheduled for 5:28 pm Eastern time, and NASA will live-stream it.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/how-to/blog/watch-nasa-crash-two-orbiters-into-the-moon-14869371?src=rss

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