Grail probes to help scientists map Moon’s gravity field
DEC 28, 2011
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.025786
SF Gate : A pair of spacecraft known as Grail-A and Grail-B are set to enter orbit around the Moon over the New Year’s weekend. They launched from the Florida coast in September and are independently traveling to their destination. Over the next two months they will fly in formation around the Moon until they’re approximately 56 kilometers above the lunar surface and about 200 kilometers apart. At that point, regional changes in the Moon’s gravity field will cause them to accelerate or slow down, which will change the distance between them; the changes in distance will allow mapping of the gravity field. With that information, it will be possible to deduce features at or below the Moon’s surface and may help explain why the far side of the Moon is more rugged than the side that faces Earth.
© 2011 American Institute of Physics
