Sacramento Valley Astronomical Society

Dr. Kimberly Ennico, NASA Ames Research Center, will be the speaker for the February SVAS General Meeting. The topic is: “The LCROSS Mission.”

Friday, February 19, 2010 at 8:00 PM, at Sacramento City College, Mohr Hall Room 3, 3835 Freeport Boulevard, Sacramento, CA.

Please click here for location information and maps.

Title:
“Hitch-hiking to the Moon, LCROSS, the lunar impactor that made a big splash on our understanding of the Moon”

Abstract:
The LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) mission’s objective is to sample and analyze regolith from a permanently shadowed region (PSR) on the Moon, providing the first in-situ study of a PSR. LCROSS has four specific science goals: (1) Confirm the presence or absence of water ice in a PSR on the Moon; (2) Identify the form/state of hydrogen observed at the lunar poles; (3) Quantify, if present, the amount of water in the lunar regolith, with respect to hydrogen concentrations; and (4) Characterize the lunar regolith within a permanently shadowed crater on the Moon.

LCROSS launched successfully with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) from Cape Canaveral, Kennedy Space Center, June 18, 2009, 21:32:00 UTC. After LRO separation, LCROSS remained connected to the Atlas V upper-stage Centaur rocket. LCROSS completed 112 days in a Lunar Gravity Assist Lunar Return Orbit, during which on-orbit science payload calibrations, shepherding spacecraft (S-S/C) health checks, and trajectory maneuver corrections were performed. The separation maneuver of the S-S/C from the Centaur occurred on October 9, 2009, 01:50:00 UTC. The mission had two kinetic impact events: (1) the spent 2366 kg Atlas V upper-stage Centaur rocket, followed four minutes later by (2) the ~625 kg LCROSS S-S/C, both traveling at ~2.5 km/s. Impacts within the lunar south pole Cabeus crater occurred on October 9, 2009 at 11:31:19.506 UTC and 11:35:36.116 UTC, for the Centaur and S-S/C, respectively.

I will discuss the LCROSS mission, with emphasis on its non- traditional mission design, and the science data sets observed by LCROSS and other observatories. I will share all the neat things I have learned on this very hands-on and engaging project and how this type of mission concept is an excellent training experience for spacecraft engineers. I will also touch on how NASA has been expanding the concept of participatory exploration, with LCROSS as an example, and look forward to a lively discussion.

Bio:
Staff scientist at NASA Ames Research Center with special interest in
astrophysics, flight instrument design and calibration, and mission
development.

LCROSS Payload Scientist and LCROSS Payload Integration & Test Manager.

Project Scientist on the SMEX Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite Concept
during Phase A (2008-2009), Co-Investigator on the ASPIRE Origins Probe Mission
Concept (2004-2009) and Co-Investigator and Payload Scientist on the MIDEX
AstroBiology Explorer (ABE) Concept (2001-2008).

Serves on the Astrophysics Subcommittee of NASA’s Advisory Council and has
authored papers on infrared detector performance, infrared optical design, and
astrobiology mission concepts.

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