
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech Space Operation's payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., the protective canister enclosing NASA's twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory spacecraft is secured on a transportation pallet. Preparations are under way to move the lunar probes, attached to a spacecraft adapter ring in their side-by-side launch configuration, to the launch pad. The spacecraft will fly in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is scheduled for Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
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NASA ID
KSC-2011-6468
Date Created
August 12, 2011
Center
KSC
Media Type
image
Location
Cape Canaveral, FL
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