GRAIL A & B Set for Lunar Orbit
Hey Space Placers! Once again spacecraft are preparing to orbit my favorite place in the Universe - our Moon. NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission with its two spacecraft, is set for a major mission milestone - entering lunar orbit - this New Year's weekend. GRAIL A & B will enter lunar orbit on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day respectively, at 1:21 p.m. PST (4:21 p.m. EST) for GRAIL-A and 2:05 p.m. PST (5:05 p.m. EST) for GRAIL-B. From NASA's Press Release yesterday: As of Dec. 28, GRAIL-A is 65,860 miles (106,000 kilometers) from the Moon and closing at a speed of 745 miles per hour (1,200 kilometers per hour). GRAIL-B is 79,540 miles (128,000 kilometers) from the Moon and closing at a speed of 763 mph (1,228 kilometers per hour). During their final approaches to the Moon, both orbiters move toward it from the south, flying nearly directly over the lunar south pole. The lunar orbit inse...