Editing Lunar Prospector (section)

== Spacecraft and subsystems ==
{{Refimprove|date=July 2020}}
[[File:Lunar Prospector in Clean Room - GPN-2000-001543.jpg|left|thumb|The fully assembled ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is shown mated atop the Star 37 Trans Lunar Injection module]]
The spacecraft was a graphite-epoxy drum, {{convert|1.36|m|abbr=on}} in diameter and {{convert|1.28|m|abbr=on}} high with three radial {{convert|2.5|m|abbr=on}} instrument booms. A {{convert|1.1|m|abbr=on}} extension boom at the end of one of the 2.5 m booms held the magnetometer. Total initial mass (fully fueled) was {{convert|296|kg|abbr=on}}. It was spin-stabilized (nominal spin rate 12 rpm) with its spin axis normal to the ecliptic plane. The spacecraft was controlled by six [[hydrazine]] [[monopropellant]] 22-newton thrusters (two aft, two forward, and two tangential). Three fuel tanks mounted inside the drum held {{convert|138|kg|abbr=on}} of hydrazine pressurized by helium. The power system consisted of body-mounted solar cells which produced an average of 186 W and a 4.8 A'''·'''h rechargeable [[Nickel-cadmium battery|NiCd battery]]. 

Communications were through two [[S band]] transponders, a slotted, phased-array medium-gain antenna for downlink, and an omnidirectional low-gain antenna for downlink and uplink. The on-board computer was a [[Harris Corporation|Harris]] 80C86 (based on [[Intel]]'s [[8086]]) with 64 [[kilobyte]]s of [[EEPROM]] and 64 kilobytes of static [[Random access memory|RAM]]. All control was from the ground, the computer echoing each command to the ground for verification there. Once the command was ground-verified, an "execute" command from the ground told the computer to proceed with execution of the command. The computer built telemetry data as a combination of immediate data and also read from a [[circular buffer|circular queue buffer]] which allowed the computer to repeat data it had read 53 minutes earlier. This simple solid-state recorder ensured that all data collected during communications blackout periods would be received, providing the blackout was not longer than 53 minutes.

The probe also carried a small amount of the remains of [[Eugene Shoemaker]] (April 28, 1928&nbsp;&ndash; July 18, 1997), astrogeologist<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gene Shoemaker - Founder of Astrogeology {{!}} U.S. Geological Survey |url=https://www.usgs.gov/centers/astrogeology-science-center/gene-shoemaker-founder-astrogeology |access-date=2022-04-28 |website=www.usgs.gov |archive-date=2022-04-28  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428043917/https://www.usgs.gov/centers/astrogeology-science-center/gene-shoemaker-founder-astrogeology |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Gene Shoemaker {{!}} American astrogeologist {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gene-Shoemaker |access-date=2022-04-28 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |archive-date=2022-04-25  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220425074307/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gene-Shoemaker |url-status=live }}</ref> and co-discoverer of [[Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9]], to the Moon for a [[space burial]].

In 2013 an unidentified piece of [[space junk]] was discovered in an unstable orbit around the Earth, and assigned the provisional number [[WT1190F]]. After it crashed into the Indian Ocean, the object was identified as probably the translunar injector of Lunar Prospector.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2016/01/fiery-space-debris-that-hit-earth-in-november-likely-from-moon-rocket/|title=Fiery space debris that hit Earth in November likely from Moon rocket|last=Berger|first=Eric|date=January 14, 2016|website=Ars Technica|language=en-us|access-date=March 24, 2019|archive-date=2019-03-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324140020/https://arstechnica.com/science/2016/01/fiery-space-debris-that-hit-earth-in-november-likely-from-moon-rocket/|url-status=live}}</ref>