Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Lunar Prospector
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020|cs1-dates=y}} {{DISPLAYTITLE:''Lunar Prospector''}} {{Short description|Third mission of the Discovery program; polar orbital reconnaissance of the Moon}} {{For|the proposed lunar landers|Prospector (spacecraft)|Resource Prospector (rover)}} {{Infobox spaceflight |name = ''Lunar Prospector'' |image = Lunar Prospector transparent.png |image_caption = ''Lunar Prospector'' |image_size = 300px |mission_type = Lunar orbiter |operator = [[NASA]] |COSPAR_ID = 1998-001A |SATCAT = 25131 |mission_duration = 570 days |spacecraft_bus = LM-100 |manufacturer = [[Lockheed Martin]] |dry_mass = {{convert|126|kg|lb}} |launch_mass = {{convert|296.4|kg|lb}}<ref name="NSSDCA_orbit">{{cite web |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1959-014A |title=Lunar Prospector |publisher=[[NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive]] |access-date=January 9, 2023 |archive-date=2019-01-15 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20190115204715/https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1959-014A |url-status=live }}</ref> |power = 202.0 W |instruments = Gamma ray spectrometer (GRS)<br/>''Lunar Prospector'' neutron spectrometer (NS)<br/>Alpha particle spectrometer (APS)<br/>Doppler gravity experiment (DGE)<br/>Magnetometer (MAG)<br/>Electron reflectometer (ER) |launch_date = {{start-date|January 7, 1998, 02:28:44|timezone=yes}} UTC<ref name="NSSDCA_orbit"/> |launch_rocket = [[Athena II]] |launch_site = [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral]] [[Spaceport Florida Launch Complex 46|SLC-46]] |launch_contractor = [[Lockheed Martin Space Systems]] | disposal_type = Deorbited (Moon impact) |decay_date = {{end-date|July 31, 1999, 09:52:02|timezone=yes}} UTC |orbit_epoch = January 16, 1998<ref name="NSSDCA_orbit"/> |orbit_reference = [[selenocentric orbit|Selenocentric]] |orbit_periapsis = {{convert|99.45|km|mi|sp=us}} |orbit_apoapsis = {{convert|101.2|km|mi|sp=us}} |orbit_inclination = 90.55 degrees |orbit_period = 117.9 minutes |orbit_eccentricity = 0.00046 |apsis = selene |interplanetary = {{Infobox spaceflight/IP |type = orbiter |object = [[Moon|Lunar]] |orbits = ~7060 |arrival_date = January 11, 1998, 10:28 UTC |location = {{Lunar coords and quad cat|87.7|S|42.1|E}} }} |insignia = Lunar Prospector insignia.png |insignia_caption = Official insignia of the ''Lunar Prospector'' mission |insignia_alt = |insignia_size = 160px |programme = '''[[Discovery Program]]''' |previous_mission = ''[[NEAR Shoemaker]]'' |next_mission = ''[[Stardust (spacecraft)|Stardust]]'' }} '''''Lunar Prospector''''' was a spacecraft that orbited the [[Moon]] for 19 months in 1998-99. From a low [[polar orbit]], it mapped surface composition including lunar hydrogen deposits, measured [[magnetic field|magnetic]] and [[gravity field|gravity]] fields, and studied lunar outgassing events. The mission ended July 31, 1999, when the orbiter was deliberately crashed into a [[Shoemaker (lunar crater)|crater]] near the lunar [[south pole]]. Data from the mission provided detailed mapping of the surface composition of the Moon, and helped to improve understanding of the origin, evolution, current state, and resources of the Moon. The mission identified the presence of hydrogen, implying deposits of [[lunar water|ice on the Moon]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://science.ksc.nasa.gov/mirrors/arc/prospector/science/results/lunarice/eureka.html|title=Eureka! Ice Found At Lunar Poles|publisher=NASA|access-date=2018-07-04 |archive-date=2020-08-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803130533/https://science.ksc.nasa.gov/mirrors/arc/prospector/science/results/lunarice/eureka.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/ice/ice_moon.html|title=Ice on the Moon|website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov|access-date=July 4, 2018|archive-date=2019-10-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191024034927/https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/ice/ice_moon.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Several articles on the scientific results were published in the journal ''Science''.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Improved Gravity Field of the Moon from ''Lunar Prospector'' |journal=Science|author1=A. S. Konopliv |author2=A. B. Binder |author3=L. L. Hood |author4=A. B. Kucinskas |author5=W. L. Sjogren |author6=J. G. Williams |doi=10.1126/science.281.5382.1476 |date=1998 |volume=281 |pages=1476β80 |pmid=9727968 |issue=5382 |bibcode=1998Sci...281.1476K|doi-access= }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Binder|first=Alan B.|date=September 4, 1998|title=Lunar Prospector: Overview|journal=Science|language=en|volume=281|issue=5382|pages=1475β1476|doi=10.1126/science.281.5382.1475|issn=0036-8075|pmid=9727967|bibcode=1998Sci...281.1475B|doi-access=}}</ref> ''Lunar Prospector'' was the third mission selected by [[NASA]] for full development and construction as part of the [[Discovery Program]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1998-001A|title=NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details|website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov|access-date=July 4, 2018|archive-date=2019-08-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812111739/https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1998-001A|url-status=live}}</ref> It was managed by [[NASA Ames Research Center]] with the prime contractor being [[Lockheed Martin]]; it cost $62.8 million. The Principal Investigator for the mission was [[Alan Binder]]. His personal account of the mission, ''Lunar Prospector: Against all Odds'', is highly critical of the bureaucracy of NASA overall, and of its contractors.<ref name = "Binder">{{Cite book | last=Binder | first=Alan B. | title=Lunar Prospector: Against all Odds | publisher=Ken Press | date=2005 | location=Tucson | pages=1181 | url=http://google.com/books?id=emuvAAAACAAJ | isbn=978-1-928771-31-9 | oclc=61137782 }}</ref>
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)