View source for Lunar Precursor Robotic Program

{{short description|Program of robotic spacecraft missions}}
The '''Lunar Precursor Robotic Program''' ('''LPRP''') is a [[NASA]] program that uses [[robotic spacecraft]] to prepare for future [[human spaceflight|crewed]] missions to the [[Moon]]. The program gathers data such as lunar radiation, surface imaging, areas of scientific interest, temperature and lighting conditions, and potential resource identification.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://moon.msfc.nasa.gov/ |title=Lunar Precursor Robotic Program |publisher=NASA |access-date=2008-02-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080421120647/http://moon.msfc.nasa.gov/ |archive-date=2008-04-21 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/acd/lunar.html Lunar Precursor and Robotic Program]. NASA.</ref>

Two LPRP missions, the [[Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter]] (LRO) and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite ([[LCROSS]]), were launched in June 2009.<ref>[http://www.nasa.gov/missions/highlights/schedule.html NASA Launch Schedule], retrieved August 8, 2008</ref> The lift-off above [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station]] in [[Florida]] on June 18, 2009, was successful. The uncrewed [[Atlas V]] rocket launched the two space probes towards the Moon, where they will provide a 3D map and search for water in conjunction with the [[Hubble Space Telescope]],<ref>{{cite web
  | title = Lunar Spacecraft Launch to Moon!
  | work = Lunar Reconnaissance Orbite
  | publisher = NASA
  | date = June 18, 2009
  | url = http://lro.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  | access-date =2009-06-18 }}
</ref><ref name="Klotz">{{cite web
 |last        = Klotz
 |first       = Irene
 |title       = NASA launches probes to scout the Moon
 |work        = Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
 |agency      = Reuters
 |publisher   = ScienceDaily
 |date        = June 18, 2009
 |url         = http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/tre55h6pj-us-space-moon/
 |access-date  = 2009-06-18
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090620203620/http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/tre55h6pj-us-space-moon/
 |archive-date = June 20, 2009
}}
</ref> launching on June 17, 2009.

This lunar program marked the first United States mission to the Moon in over ten years.<ref>{{cite web
  | title = Lunar Spacecraft Launch to Moon!
  | work = Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter NASA's First step back to the Moon
  | publisher = NASA
  | date = June 18, 2009
  | url = http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/main/index.html
  | access-date = 2009-06-18}}
</ref> [[Neil Armstrong]]'s first step on the Moon occurred on July 20, 1969, and this launch was 32 days before its 40th anniversary.<ref name="Marcia">{{cite web
 |last=Dunn 
 |first=Marcia 
 |title=NASA launches unmanned Moon shot, first in decade 
 |publisher=Associated Press 
 |date=June 18, 2009 
 |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090618/ap_on_sc/us_sci_moon_rocket 
 |access-date=2009-06-18 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090621223523/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090618/ap_on_sc/us_sci_moon_rocket 
 |archive-date=2009-06-21 
}} 
</ref> The [[Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter|LRO]] entered a low orbit around the Moon, while the LCROSS mission performed a "swing-by" and entered a different orbit to set up a [[collision]] with the Moon's surface several months later. The projected lunar impact of the [[Centaur (rocket stage)|Centaur]] and LCROSS spacecraft was on October 9, 2009, at 11:30 UT (7:30&nbsp;a.m. EDT, 4:30&nbsp;a.m. PDT), ± 30 minutes. The plume from the Centaur impact was predicted by NASA to be visible through telescopes with [[apertures]] as small as 10 to {{convert|12|in|mm}}.<ref name="Klotz"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://lcross.arc.nasa.gov/observation.htm |title=LCROSS Observation Campaign |publisher=NASA |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504042620/http://lcross.arc.nasa.gov/observation.htm |archive-date=2012-05-04 }}</ref>

== Program history ==
[[Image:LRO-LCROSS Atlas V-Centaur launching from Launch Complex 41.jpg|thumb|The [[Atlas V]]-Centaur rocket carrying the LRO and LCROSS just after takeoff.]]
Initially, the LPRP program was a part of the [[Science Mission Directorate]] of NASA (SMD) and was called the Robotic Lunar Exploration Program (RLEP). Management of the RLEP program was assigned to [[Goddard Space Flight Center]] (GSFC) in February 2004. At that time, the Program's goal was to "...initiate a series of robotic missions to the Moon to prepare for and support future human exploration activities."<ref>{{cite web | url = http://lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov/library/vondrak0904.pdf | title = Robotic Lunar Exploration Program 2008 Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) | first = Richard |last = Vondrak | publisher=NASA |date = September 2004}}</ref>

In 2005, responsibility for RLEP was moved to NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) and management was assigned to the [[Ames Research Center]] (ARC). In 2006, the program was renamed the Lunar Precursor Robotic Program and management responsibility was reassigned to the [[Marshall Space Flight Center]] (MSFC). The [[United States dollar|US$]]583 million space mission comes equipped with a $504 million {{convert|4200|lb|kg}} LRO space probe and a $79 million LCROSS satellite.<ref name="Harwood">{{cite web
  | last = Harwood
  | first = William
  | title = Atlas 5 rocket launches NASA Moon mission
  | publisher = CNET
  | date = June 18, 2009
  | url = http://news.cnet.com/8301-19514_3-10268241-239.html
  | access-date = 2009-06-18
  | archive-date = 2013-11-03
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131103112957/http://news.cnet.com/8301-19514_3-10268241-239.html
  | url-status = dead
  }}</ref>

=== LRO ===
{{Main|Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter}}
The [[Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter]] (LRO) is the first mission of the LPRP program. Management of the LRO was assigned to [[Goddard Space Flight Center]] (GSFC) in 2004. The LRO launched on an [[Atlas V]] 401 rocket from [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station]]<ref name="vehicle0">{{cite web | url = http://lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov/launch.html | title = Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Launch | publisher = lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov | access-date = 2008-03-22 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120216023235/http://lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov/launch.html | archive-date = 2012-02-16 }}</ref> on June 18, 2009, at 5:32&nbsp;p.m. EDT (2132 GMT). The planned liftoff at 5:12&nbsp;p.m. EDT (2112 GMT) was delayed by 20 minutes due to thunderstorms.<ref name="Harwood"/> The LRO was scheduled to orbit the Moon for one year, gathering high-resolution images of the lunar surface that would allow the creation of detailed maps. The LRO's goals included finding safe landing sites for human visits to the Moon, identifying lunar resources, studying the lunar radiation environment, and providing a 3D map of the Moon's surface to allow astronauts to return to the Moon by 2020. The LRO carried seven main [[Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter#Onboard instruments|instruments]], including the Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER), the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment (DLRE), the Lyman-Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP), the Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND), the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA), the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC), and the Miniature Radio Frequency radar (Mini-RF).<ref name="Marcia" /><ref>{{cite web
  | last = Klotz
  | first = Irene
  | title = NASA launches probes to scout the Moon
  | publisher = Reuters
  | date = June 18, 2009
  | url = https://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-moon/nasa-launches-probes-to-scout-the-moon-idUSTRE55H6PJ20090618
  | access-date = 2023-04-30}}
</ref><ref>{{cite web
  | last = Yan
  | title = Backgrounder: Introduction to LRO's instruments
  | work = Xinhua
  | publisher = China view
  | date = June 19, 2009
  | url = http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-06/19/content_11564558.htm
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090629090644/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-06/19/content_11564558.htm
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = June 29, 2009
  | access-date =2009-06-18 }}
</ref>

=== LCROSS ===
{{Main|LCROSS}}
The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite ([[LCROSS]]) mission is to be launched with the LRO. It was selected as a secondary payload in 2006, and management of the program was assigned to [[NASA Ames Research Center|Ames Research Center]] (ARC). The mission will explore a permanently shadowed region of a lunar pole by crashing the {{convert|2300|lb|kg}} spent [[Centaur rocket]] upper stage of the [[Atlas V]] launch vehicle into a dark crater. The composition of the ejecta plume will be observed by a shepherding spacecraft, which will itself crash-land 4 minutes later, creating a second plume. NASA expects the impact velocity will be over 9,000&nbsp;km/h (5,600&nbsp;mph). The ejecta plume will weigh in the order of 350 tons (317 metric tons) and rise {{convert|6|mi|km}} from the surface.<ref>{{cite web
  | last = Dunn
  | first = Marcia
  | title = NASA launches unmanned Moon probe First such mission in a decade will use robotic probes to hunt for hidden ice
  | agency = Associated Press
  | publisher = NBC News
  | date = June 18, 2009
  | url = https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna31424880
  | access-date =2009-06-18 }}
</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/11aug_lcross.htm |title=A Flash of Insight: LCROSS Mission Update |date=2008-08-11 |publisher=NASA |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105212753/http://science.nasa.gov./headlines/y2008/11aug_lcross.htm |archive-date=2009-01-05 }}</ref>

===LADEE===
{{main|LADEE}}
The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) launched on September 7, 2013.<ref name="gsfc-ladee">{{cite web|url=http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=LADEE|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080813104358/http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=LADEE|url-status=dead|archive-date=2008-08-13|title=Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE)|publisher=NASA|work=[[National Space Science Data Center]] Master Catalog}}</ref> LADEE studied the [[Atmosphere of the Moon|lunar exosphere]] and dust in the Moon's vicinity.

==Future projects==
For a hypothetical [[International Lunar Network]], NASA and international partners planned to land two stations on the lunar surface.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nasascience.nasa.gov/missions/iln |title=International Lunar Network |publisher=NASA SMD |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916120534/http://nasascience.nasa.gov/missions/iln |archive-date=2008-09-16 }}</ref> Their objective was to establish a robotic set of geophysical monitoring stations on the surface and, eventually, in lunar orbit as well.<ref>[https://sservi.nasa.gov/articles/international-lunar-network/ International Lunar Network]. NASA.</ref>

==Data processing==
The Lunar Mapping and Modeling project is using the obtained data to develop detailed topographic maps of the lunar surface that support lunar science, exploration, commercial, educational, and public outreach activities.<ref>[https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/lunarquest/mapping/index.html The Lunar Mapping and Modeling Project (LMMP)]. Lunar Quest, NASA.</ref> In addition, solar radiation levels will be mapped and modelled. These integrated data will be used by NASA to make decisions about, for example, lunar outpost designs.

==See also==
* [[Exploration of the Moon]]
* [[List of future lunar missions]]
* [[Lunar ice]]
* [[Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Wikinews|NASA launches two space probes to the Moon}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080421120647/http://moon.msfc.nasa.gov/ Official home page]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060110043427/http://lro.larc.nasa.gov/ Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Acquisition Program]

{{Moon spacecraft}}
{{NASA planetary exploration programs}}
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[[Category:Missions to the Moon]]
[[Category:NASA programs]]
[[Category:Exploration of the Moon]]