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the Moon · Space · Explore · All time · 37 of 37 located marks in focus · editorial corpus · no live source connected
mission
Close ✕LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite)
A NASA impact experiment launched on 18 June 2009 aboard an Atlas V alongside the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Surface position at LCROSS Centaur impact site · 2009-06-18 – 2009-10-09
Lunar mission
Operated byNASA · United States
ClassImpactor · robotic
Outcomesuccess
Launched2009-06-18
Arrived2009-10-09
PositionLCROSS Centaur impact site →
Connections
- travelled to LCROSS Centaur impact site — LCROSS reached this position, and the position is published.
- impacted Cabeus Crater — Cabeus was chosen because orbital neutron data showed one of the strongest hydrogen enhancements near the pole; the LCROSS Centaur was steered into its permanently shadowed floor on 9 October 2009.
- first directly measured Lunar Water Ice — Spectra of the ejecta plume gave water at 5.6 ± 2.9 per cent by mass — the first direct measurement of water inside a lunar cold trap rather than an inference from remote sensing.
Mission history61 missions · 1959 → 2026 · 2 planned
1145 objects · 280 located (1 withheld pending verification) · 865 unlocated · No relief basemap · marks drawn only from sourced coordinates