Lunar Prospector Impact Page

New - 12/2/99:The Learning Technologies Channel covers the mission.

News as of 10/13/99: A press release on the findings of the Prospector Impact Project. Also see this for more info.

NEWS as of 9/3/99: Nasa's Space Science News has a nice article about the ongoing work to identify signs of water in the data aquired during the impact. See The Case of the Missing Moon Water for more.

NEWS as of 8/3/99: Several observatories have now reported how their observations went. As expected for a one-shot event, there were a few glitches. However, several places had very good weather and took their planned sequences of observations. While none of the larger observatories so far report having detected a clear dust plume, this was to be expected. All those with good data are now going to begin the detailed analysis of what they saw. This analysis may take days to weeks, depending on the exact details. If there is an unexpectedly strong signal, there might be an earlier release of findings. However, we expect a difficult time determining if there is a weak signal for the different species beside the bright background of the sunlit moon. Thanks to all of you who stayed up late (or got up early) and spent hours in preparation for the unique event!

Information about current Congressional action on Space Science:
Those interested in seeing funding continued for similar projects should read the AAS's Call for Action.

Post-impact News: The Lunar Prospector team did not reacquire the signal from Prospector, so it has definitely hit the moon. So far no visual sightings of a dust cloud have been reported, but observations of the water and other volitiles is still ongoing.

Last Prospector News: The final command sequence has been successfully loaded by the Lunar Prospector Team. Everything is a GO for the de-orbit burn at 09:15:55.2 . We are on schedule for an 09:52:02 impact.

Previous Latest News: Preliminary reports following the 1st burn indicate that the boost was slightly stronger than planned. This put Prospector in a slightly higher orbit and the impact will occur 1 minute later than planned. The impact will occur at 09:52:02 UT.

Jump directly to:

• Preamble - a brief introduction to the project.
• People - the principal engineers and scientists involved.
• Pictures - simulations and animations of what we expect to see.
• Planned Observations - including information on the Coordinated Observing Program.
• Publications and Presentations - more detailed infromation.
• Press Reports - read what's been said elsewhere.
• Press Inquiries - how to obtain more information.
• Profile of Prospector's mission - including the end of mission timeline.
• Participate - A Bulletin Board where observers and others can share their views.

Interactive: Check out the Impact Bulletin Board

Amateur observers should have a look at LunarImpact.com for tips on observing the event.

Lunar Prospector data support the contention that water ice reservoirs exist in the permanently shaded craters near the lunar poles. Yet as the mission approaches its conclusion on July 31, 1999, the question remains whether the detected hydrogen abundance is actually water ice or is hydrogen in some other form, for example, hydrated minerals or adsorped solar wind. NASA has now approved plans for a novel approach to confirming the ice finding. Rather than allowing the vehicle to crash at an unknown point, our plans call for a controlled impact of Lunar Prospector into a polar crater at the end of July. The impact energy is high, equivalent to a 4000lb car crash at 1,100mph. The hope is that the crash will liberate perhaps 40 lbs. of water vapor that may be detected by ground- and space-based observatories. A positive spectral detection of water vapor or its photo-dissociated byproduct, OH, would give us definite proof of the presence of water ice in the regolith.

• David B. Goldstein
  Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, The University of Texas at Austin
  Click here to view an interview with Dr. Goldstein
• R. Steven Nerem
  Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, Center for Space Research, The University of Texas at Austin
  Click here to view an interview with Dr. Nerem
• Edwin S. Barker
  McDonald Observatory, The University of Texas at Austin
  Click here to view an interview with Dr. Barker
• J. Victor Austin
  Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, The University of Texas at Austin
  Click here to view an interview with Mr. Austin
• Alan B. Binder, Lunar Research Institute
• William C. Feldman, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Beta video tapes of the above listed interviews may be made available to accredited media upon request. Please see press inquiries below.

Time magazine: NASA: One Giant Smash-up for Mankind

Sky & Telescope: Lunar Prospector to Make a Splash

Space Science News: Lunar Prospector heads for a Watery Grave

Bracing for Impact from NASA Space Science News.

NASA Looks for Ice on the Moon from the Associated Press on Yahoo News.

Listen to a report about the project on National Public Radio (NPR).

NASA Aims for Deep Impact, on Moon and Science in the Washington Post.

And for the amateur astronomers out there:
Lunar Impact on Phil Plait's site and
http://www.LunarImpact.com a whole domain dedicated to the event!

From ABC News: Crashing Into the Moon.

The Case of the Missing Moon Water from Space Science News.

NEW - The Learning Technologies Channel covers the mission.