Scientific Colloquium
April 23, 2010
ANTHONY
COLAPRETE
AMES RESEARCH CENTER
"Results from the
LCROSS Experiment"
On October 9, 2009, at
approximately 11:31:19 UTC the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing
Satellite (LCROSS) Centaur impacted within about 150 meters of the
planned target on the Moon. The impact resulted in an ejecta
cloud that was observed to expand to over 10 km across and to a height
of more than 10 km above the surface. All instruments on the
LCROSS spacecraft performed well and a wealth of data was
collected. All portions of the impact, including the flash,
ejecta curtain and resulting crater, were observed. From
the data the presence of water was confirmed, as was the presence of
several other compounds. In this presentation an overview of the
results will be presented.