Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory

For other uses, see Grail (disambiguation).
Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory

Artist's interpretation of the GRAIL tandem spacecraft above the lunar surface.
Operator NASA / JPL[1][2]
COSPAR ID 2011-046 (A, B)
SATCAT № 37801, 37802
Website moon.mit.edu
Mission duration 9 months
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer Massachusetts Institute of Technology, LMSS
Launch mass 307 kg (677 lb)
Dry mass 132.6 kg (292 lb)
Power (Solar array / Li-ion battery)
Start of mission
Launch date September 10, 2011, 13:08:52.775 (2011-09-10UTC13:08:52Z) UTC
Rocket Delta II 7920H-10 D-356
Launch site Cape Canaveral SLC-17B
Entered service December 31, 2011 (Ebb)
January 1, 2012 (Flow)
Orbital parameters
Reference system Selenocentric
Regime Polar orbit
Semi-major axis 1,788.0 kilometres (1,111.0 mi)
Periselene 25 kilometres (16 mi)
Aposelene 86 kilometres (53 mi)
Period 113 minutes
Lunar impactor
Impact date December 17, 2012, 22:28:51 UTC
Impact site 75°36′30″N 33°24′15″E / 75.6083°N 33.4043°E / 75.6083; 33.4043
Lunar impactor
Impact date December 17, 2012, 22:29:21 UTC
Impact site 75°39′01″N 33°09′51″E / 75.6504°N 33.1643°E / 75.6504; 33.1643

Discovery program
← Kepler InSight →
MoonKAM shot

The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) was an American lunar science mission in NASA's Discovery Program which used high-quality gravitational field mapping of the Moon to determine its interior structure. The two small spacecraft GRAIL A (Ebb) and GRAIL B (Flow)[3] were launched on 10 September 2011 aboard a single launch vehicle: the most-powerful configuration of a Delta II, the 7920H-10.[1][4][5] GRAIL A separated from the rocket about nine minutes after launch, GRAIL B followed about eight minutes later. They arrived at their orbits around the Moon 25 hours apart.[6][7] The first probe entered orbit on 31 December 2011 and the second followed on 1 January 2012.[8] The two spacecraft impacted the Lunar surface on December 17, 2012.[9]

Overview

Fourth grade students at Emily Dickinson Elementary School in Bozeman, Montana who suggested names Ebb and Flow.[3]

Maria Zuber of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is GRAIL's principal investigator. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the project. As of August 5, 2011, the program has cost US$496 million.[10] Upon launch the spacecraft were named GRAIL A and GRAIL B and a contest was opened to school children to select names. Nearly 900 classrooms from 45 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, participated in the contest. The winning names, Ebb and Flow, were suggested by 4th grade students at Emily Dickinson Elementary School in Bozeman, Montana.[3]

Each spacecraft transmitted and received telemetry from the other spacecraft and Earth-based facilities. By measuring the change in distance between the two spacecraft, the gravity field and geological structure of the Moon was obtained. The two spacecraft were able to detect very small changes in the distance between one another. Changes in distance as small as one micron were detectable and measurable.[11][12] The gravitational field of the Moon was mapped in unprecedented detail.[13]

Objectives

The data collection phase of the mission lasted from 7 Mar 2012 to 29 May 2012, for a total of 88 days. A second phase, at a lower altitude, of data collection began 31 Aug 2012,[14] and was followed by 12 months of data analysis.[13] On 5 Dec 2012 NASA released a gravity map of the Moon made from GRAIL data.[15] The knowledge acquired will aid understanding of the evolutionary history of the terrestrial planets and computations of lunar orbits.[16]

Spacecraft

Instruments

Gravity map of the Moon by GRAIL

Propulsion

Thrusters aboard each spacecraft were capable of producing 22 newtons (4.9 lbf).[17] Each spacecraft was fueled with 103.5 kilograms (228 lb) of hydrazine to be used by the thrusters and main engine to enable the spacecraft to enter lunar orbit and transition to the science phase of its mission. The propulsion subsystem consisted of a main fuel tank and a Re-repressurization system which were activated shortly after lunar orbit insertion.[21]

Mission profile

Launch attempts

All times are in EDT (UTC-4).

Attempt Planned Result Turnaround Reason Decision point Weather go (%) Notes
1 8 Sep 2011, 8:37:06 am scrubbed[22] --- high level winds 8 Sep 2011, 8:30 am 40% A weather balloon was released minutes before the decision point to take the latest readings of upper level winds and Air Force weather reconnaissance aircraft were aloft beginning at 7 am.
2 8 Sep 2011, 9:16:12 am scrubbed[22] 0 days, 0 hours, 39 minutes high level winds 8 Sep 2011, 9:07 am 40% [23] Range was reconfigured for omni antennae instead of tracked ones to support 99 degree azimuth.
3 9 Sep 2011, 8:33:25 am abandoned[22] 0 days, 23 hours, 17 minutes rocket propulsion 40% An issue with the rocket's propulsion system was detected while the Delta 2 rocket was drained of fuel.
4 10 Sep 2011, 8:29:45 am scrubbed[22] 0 days, 23 hours, 56 minutes high level winds 10 Sep 2011, 8:21 am 60%
5 10 Sep 2011, 9:08:52 am Success[22] 0 days, 0 hours, 39 minutes

Transit phase

GRAIL-transit-Earth-Moon

Unlike the Apollo program missions, which took three days to reach the Moon, GRAIL made use of a three- to four-month low-energy trans-lunar cruise well outside the Moon's orbit and passing near the Sun-Earth Lagrange point L1 before looping back to rendezvous with the Moon. This extended and circuitous trajectory enabled the mission to reduce fuel requirements, protect instruments and reduce the velocity of the two spacecraft at lunar arrival to help achieve the extremely low 50 km (31 mi) orbits with separation between the spacecraft (arriving 25 hours apart) of 175 to 225 km (109 to 140 mi).[16][24] The very tight tolerances in the flight plan left little room for error correction leading to a launch window lasting one second and providing only two launch opportunities per day.[23]

Science phase

The primary science phase of GRAIL lasted for 88 days, from 7 Mar 2012 to 29 May 2012. It was followed by a second science phase starting on 8 Aug.

The gravity mapping technique was similar to that used by Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), and the spacecraft design was based on XSS-11.[25]

The orbital insertion dates were December 31, 2011 (for GRAIL-A) and January 1, 2012 (for GRAIL-B).[22]

The spacecraft were operated over the 88-day acquisition phase, divided into three 27.3 day long nadir-pointed mapping cycles. Twice each day there was an 8-hour pass in view of the Deep Space Network for transmission of science and "E/PO MoonKam" data.[26]

Terminal phase

Ebb and Flow's final moments.
GRAIL's final resting spot.
This animation shows the last three orbits of the spacecraft, with views of the impact site. The impact occurs on the night side of a waxing crescent Moon, so the view shifts from a natural color Moon to a false-color elevation map.
LRO flies over the north pole of the Moon, where it has a very good view of the GRAIL impact. The second part of this video is the view from LRO through LAMP's slit, showing the impact and the resulting plume.

Final experiment and mission end

At the end of the science phase and a mission extension, the spacecraft were powered down and decommissioned over a five-day period. The spacecraft impacted the lunar surface on December 17, 2012.[26][27][28][29][30][31] Both spacecraft impacted an unnamed lunar mountain between Philolaus and Mouchez at 75°37′N 26°38′W / 75.62°N 26.63°W / 75.62; -26.63. Ebb, the lead spacecraft in formation, impacted first. Flow impacted moments later. Each spacecraft was traveling at 3,760 miles per hour (1.68 km/s). A final experiment was conducted during the final days of the mission. Main engines aboard the spacecraft were fired, depleting remaining fuel. Data from that effort will be used by mission planners to validate fuel consumption computer models to improve predictions of fuel needs for future missions.[32] NASA has announced that the crash site will be named after GRAIL collaborator and first American woman in space, Sally Ride.[33]

Moon – Oceanus Procellarum ("Ocean of Storms")
Ancient rift valleys – rectangular structure (visible – topography – GRAIL gravity gradients) (October 1, 2014).
Ancient rift valleys – context.
Ancient rift valleys – closeup (artist's concept).

References

  1. 1 2 "Delta II Set to Launch NASA's GRAIL Mission". United Launch Alliance. 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  2. ↑ "The GRAIL Mission: A Fact Sheet". Sally Ride Science. 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
  3. 1 2 3 Agle, DC. "Montana Students Submit Winning Names for NASA Lunar Spacecraft". NASA JPL.
  4. ↑ "Delta II: The Industry Workhorse" (PDF). United Launch Alliance. 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  5. ↑ Grey Hautaluoma (10 December 2007). "New NASA Mission to Reveal Moon's Internal Structure and Evolution". NASA. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  6. ↑ Moon-bound twin GRAIL spacecraft launch success
  7. ↑ Spaceflight101
  8. ↑ "First of NASA's GRAIL Spacecraft Enters Moon Orbit". NASA. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  9. ↑ GRAIL Twins crash into the Moon to complete highly successful Mission
  10. ↑ Marcia Dunn, AP Aerospace Writer (5 August 2011). "NASA Spacecraft Begins 5-Year Trip to Jupiter". Yahoo News. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  11. ↑ GRAVITY RECOVERY AND INTERIOR LABORATORY (GRAIL) MISSION: STATUS AT THE INITIATION OF THE SCIENCE MAPPING PHASE, 43rd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2012)
  12. ↑ Washington Post December 17, 2012
  13. 1 2 "About GRAIL". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2011-03-12.
  14. ↑ Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory: News & Features: NASA's GRAIL Moon Twins Begin Extended Mission Science. Solarsystem.nasa.gov. Retrieved on 2013-07-21.
  15. ↑ Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory: News & Features: NASA's GRAIL Creates Most Accurate Moon Gravity Map. Solarsystem.nasa.gov. Retrieved on 2013-07-21.
  16. 1 2 "GRAIL: Mission Overview". MIT. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  17. 1 2 "Spacecraft and Payload". Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
  18. ↑ "GRAIL: Mission Operations & Data Processing". MIT. Retrieved 2012-12-14.
  19. ↑ "About GRAIL MoonKAM". Sally Ride Science. 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
  20. ↑ "GRAIL Launch Press Kit" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  21. ↑ GRAIL (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory)
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Harwood, William. "NASA launches GRAIL lunar probes". CBS News. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  23. 1 2 Justin Ray (17 August 2011). "GRAIL Launch Window Chart". SpaceFlight Now. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  24. ↑ "Mission Design". NASA. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  25. ↑ Taylor Dinerman (31 December 2007). "Is XSS-11 the answer to America's quest for Operationally Responsive Space?". The Space Review. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  26. 1 2 "GRAIL: Mission Design". MIT.
  27. ↑ "NASA GRAIL Twins Complete Their Moon Impact". NASA. 17 December 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-17.
  28. ↑ Wall, Mike (13 December 2012). "Twin GRAIL probes readied for crash into Moon". MSNBC. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  29. ↑ Wall, Mike (11 December 2012). "Twin NASA Probes to Crash into Moon Next Week". Space.com. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  30. ↑ "Twin NASA spacecraft prepare to crash into moon". Phys.org. 13 December 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  31. ↑ Knapp, Alex (14 December 2012). "NASA Prepares To Crash Its Probes Into The Moon". Forbes. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
  32. ↑ "NASA Probes Prepare for Mission-Ending Moon Impact". NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  33. ↑ Mike Wall (17 December 2012). "Moon Probes' Crash Site Named After Sally Ride". Space.com. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
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