LADEE
Former NASA Lunar mission / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE; /ˈlædi/)[5] was a NASA lunar exploration and technology demonstration mission. It was launched on a Minotaur V rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on September 7, 2013.[6] During its seven-month mission, LADEE orbited the Moon's equator, using its instruments to study the lunar exosphere and dust in the Moon's vicinity. Instruments included a dust detector, neutral mass spectrometer, and ultraviolet-visible spectrometer, as well as a technology demonstration consisting of a laser communications terminal.[7] The mission ended on April 18, 2014, when the spacecraft's controllers intentionally crashed LADEE into the far side of the Moon,[8][9] which, later, was determined to be near the eastern rim of Sundman V crater.[10]
Mission type | Lunar atmospheric research |
---|---|
Operator | NASA |
COSPAR ID | 2013-047A |
SATCAT no. | 39246 |
Website | nasa |
Mission duration | Primary mission: 100 days Extended mission: 28 days Total duration: 223 days |
Spacecraft properties | |
Bus | MCSB |
Manufacturer | Ames Research Center |
Launch mass | 383 kg (844 lb)[1] |
Dry mass | 248.2 kg (547 lb)[1] |
Payload mass | 49.6 kg (109 lb)[1] |
Dimensions | 1.85×1.85×2.37 m (6.1×6.1×7.8 ft)[1] |
Power | 295 watts[1] |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | September 7, 2013, 03:27 (2013-09-07UTC03:27Z) UTC[2] |
Rocket | Minotaur V |
Launch site | Wallops Pad 0B |
Contractor | Orbital[1] |
End of mission | |
Disposal | Deorbited |
Decay date | April 18, 2014 (2014-04-19), ~04:30 UTC |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Selenocentric[3] |
Periselene altitude | 25–50 km (16–31 mi)[4] |
Aposelene altitude | 60–80 km (37–50 mi)[4] |
Inclination | 157 degrees[4] |
Period | 111.5 to 116.5 minutes[1] |
Epoch | Planned (science phase) |
Moon orbiter | |
Orbital insertion | October 6, 2013, 10:57 UTC |
Logotype of the mission |