October 9, 2009 year in 11:31:20 UTC / 4:31:20 PDT (15:31 Moscow time) research probe LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) on a predetermined plan, hit the surface of the lunar crater Cabeus. In the beginning, served their , the step of «Centaur», which flowed at 2.5 km / c, faced with the moon and knocked out from the surface of the Earth's satellite about 350 tons of lunar rocks, making thus a test crater. The collision came a pillar of lunar dust in height Nine kilometers. About 4 minutes apparatus LCROSS studied the composition of the dust, after which he ran with the moon.
Three spectrometer installed on the LCROSS, looking for traces of water ice in the dust particles was determined by their chemical composition. In addition, five cameras were filming collision until the last moment of existence of the probe. All of the cameras immediately transmitted to Earth.
During the clashes are a few dozen professional observatories, such as telescopes behalf of the Keck 10 m in diameter and four-meter infrared instrument on IRTF in Hawaii, as well as mnogozerkalny Telescope MMT, located above the Arizona desert. By the way, LCROSS launch date is to adjust the location of a Hawaiian observatory - the best island observatory in the world. orbiter to study the lunar surface, NASA LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) also witnessed a double collision, only this time from space.
Source: http://blogs.nasa.gov
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