LCROSS: the story

1. LCROSS

   NASA LCROSS Mission · 2009

   At the Moon's South Pole lie craters where sunlight hasn't touched for over two billion years. At 40 Kelvin (-233°C), these craters are the coldest places in the entire solar system—and giant natural iceboxes.

2. Atlas V launch with LRO

   18 June 2009 · Cape Canaveral SLC-41

   Launched alongside the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), LCROSS stayed attached to its massive Centaur rocket upper stage, swinging past the Moon to enter a 3-month polar cruise orbit.

3. The 7.2 GJ kinetic explosion

   9 October 2009 · 11:31:19 UTC

   The 2,305 kg Centaur rocket hit the frozen floor of Cabeus crater at 2.5 km/s (9,000 km/h). Unleashing 7.2 GigaJoules of kinetic energy, it blasted a 20-meter crater and threw 350 tons of regolith into the sunlight.

4. Flying through the water plume

   T + 4 minutes · 11:35 UTC

   Trailing 4 minutes behind, the Shepherding Spacecraft flew directly through the sunlit ejecta plume. Its infrared spectrometers caught distinct absorption dips at 1.4 µm and 1.9 µm—the unmistakable molecular fingerprint of water.

5. Water on the Moon

   155 kilograms of water ice

   LCROSS measured 155 kilograms of pure water vapor and ice—about 5.6% of the excavated soil. Along with water, it found methane, ammonia, and hydrogen: a primordial cocktail left by billions of years of comets.

6. Resting in Cabeus Crater

   LROC Frame M119827295RE

   Moments after sending its final spectra, the Shepherding Spacecraft joined the Centaur on the dark floor of Cabeus crater. Their twin impact craters remain preserved forever in eternal shadow.

NASA LCROSS Mission · 2009

LCROSS

At the Moon's South Pole lie craters where sunlight hasn't touched for over two billion years. At 40 Kelvin (-233°C), these craters are the coldest places in the entire solar system—and giant natural iceboxes.

18 June 2009 · Cape Canaveral SLC-41

Atlas V launch with LRO

Launched alongside the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), LCROSS stayed attached to its massive Centaur rocket upper stage, swinging past the Moon to enter a 3-month polar cruise orbit.

9 October 2009 · 11:31:19 UTC

The 7.2 GJ kinetic explosion

The 2,305 kg Centaur rocket hit the frozen floor of Cabeus crater at 2.5 km/s (9,000 km/h). Unleashing 7.2 GigaJoules of kinetic energy, it blasted a 20-meter crater and threw 350 tons of regolith into the sunlight.

T + 4 minutes · 11:35 UTC

Flying through the water plume

Trailing 4 minutes behind, the Shepherding Spacecraft flew directly through the sunlit ejecta plume. Its infrared spectrometers caught distinct absorption dips at 1.4 µm and 1.9 µm—the unmistakable molecular fingerprint of water.

155 kilograms of water ice

Water on the Moon

LCROSS measured 155 kilograms of pure water vapor and ice—about 5.6% of the excavated soil. Along with water, it found methane, ammonia, and hydrogen: a primordial cocktail left by billions of years of comets.

LROC Frame M119827295RE

Resting in Cabeus Crater

Moments after sending its final spectra, the Shepherding Spacecraft joined the Centaur on the dark floor of Cabeus crater. Their twin impact craters remain preserved forever in eternal shadow.

RoverVilla / LCROSS

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01 / 6 · NASA LCROSS Mission · 2009

2009