LADEE Spacecraft Crashes into the Moon… Intentionally

NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer, referred to as LADEE was successfully “crashed” into the Moon today. You read that correctly, the crash into the lunar surface was intentional.

Since a final command from NASA on April 11, the LADEE spacecraft has been gradually lowering its orbital altitude over the moon with the aim of a high velocity impact on the far side of the moon.

Exactly when LADEE would impact was not an exact science, however mission managers expected the spacecraft to crash into the Moon some time before before April 21.



While the impact may have been more dramatic on the near side (the side facing Earth), mission planners wanted to avoid any possibility of crashing LADEE into any of the historic Apollo landing sites.

“The moon’s gravity field is so lumpy, and the terrain is so highly variable with crater ridges and valleys that frequent maneuvers are required or the LADEE spacecraft will impact the moon’s surface,” said Butler Hine, LADEE project manager at Ames.

Because of the ambiguity, NASA actually had an online contest to allow individuals to guess when LADEE would impact on the Lunar Surface. Dubbed the “Take the Plunge: LADEE Impact Challenge,” will be e-mailed a commemorative, personalized certificate from the LADEE program.

“We want to thank all those that watched LADEE launch and have followed the mission these past months,” said Jim Green, NASA’s Director for Planetary Science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Our Moon holds a special place in so many cultures, and because of LADEE, we’ll know more than ever before about our nearest neighbor.”