Video: Space Collision: NASA’s GRAIL probes crashed on Moon at Sally Ride site

NASA crashed GRAIL mission’s two robotic probes on Earth’s natural satellite on Monday 17 Dec. 2012. The twin space probes “Ebb” and “Flow” were destroyed after they have completed a 1-year-mission during which they studied what lies beneath the lunar surface (scroll down for video simulation).

Artist’s impression showing NASA’s Grail probes “Ebb and Flow” surveilling the moon. Photo:NASA/MIT

Twin probes GRAIL (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory) smashed into the rim of a crater in a mountainous area located near the North Pole of the Moon. The crash site named after Sally Ride – the first American in space, who died this summer – was chosen by NASA in order to eliminate any possibility of contaminating the landing sites of the Apollo missions.

The two collisions took place 20 seconds apart, on Monday at 10:28 p.m. GMT. The impact was not be visible from Earth.

Before the crash, GRAIL’s project manager David Lehman said: “The probes will be totally destroyed. The two spacecraft are currently flying just 11 miles above the lunar surface, and almost running out of fuel. The spacecraft performed the last maneuvers on Friday disabling the scientific instruments before Monday’s impact”.

GRAIL’s Ebb and Flow probes ended mission after colliding with Moon on Monday Dec.17, 2012

GRAIL’s Ebb and Flow probes which were as big as a washing machine, carried out a paired flyby around the moon for nearly a year to generate a gravity map of the natural satellite. Scientists accurately measured probes’ separation distance that modified slightly when they flew over denser regions. Additional mass gravity made first probe accelerate, thus increasing the distance between them for a short period, until also the second probe sped up.

Gravity maps developed during the first part of the mission, which took place between March and May 2012, showed that the moon has a crust more fractured and more superficial than previously thought. This is due to collisions with asteroids and comets several billion years ago.
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All solid celestial bodies in the inner solar system suffered similar “bombing”, but on Earth the “evidence” has been erased by erosion, motion of tectonic plates and other phenomena.

“Regarding Mars, the question is what happened to all the water that we believe once found itself on the surface? The identified lunar rifts provide an insight into what could happen on the red planet, suggesting that it would be possible for a surface ocean to had cut its way into the planet’s crust,” said Maria Zuber, researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

During GRAIL mission scientists have discovered lunar underground cracks filled with lava, proving that Moon went through a phase of expansion in the first part of its history. Data collected by the two probes will help engineers to choose ideal landing sites that will serve future robotic and human missions.

“Not even in my wildest dreams I would have imagined that this mission could have such good results,” added Zuber.

“Ebb” and “Flow” hit the moon at a speed of about 6,000 kilometers per hour. No picture of the big event was taken since the region was covered in darkness at the collision moment, but another spacecraft orbiting the Moon, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, will later seek to study the impact site.

Because it was about the crash of two small probes with empty fuel tanks, none expected the collision be visible from Earth.

Video: NASA Grail probes end mission with Moon impact