LCROSS Impacts the Moon

NASA’s Lunar CRater Observing and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) and its Centaur upper stage impacted the Moon this morning four minutes apart at about 7:30 am EDT. Centaur impacted first in the shadowed portion of the Cabeus crater at the Moon’s South Pole, spewing dust up from the surface. LCROSS flew through the dust taking measurements and sending back data to Earth, and then impacted Cabeus itself a few kilometers from the Centaur. Observers on Earth using ground-based instruments also studied the plumes from the impacts. The mission is led by NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA, which is scheduled to hold a press conference at 10:00 am EDT this morning.