GRAIL orbiters make DEATH DIVE into lunar mountain
The two orbiters that make made up NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) have smashed into a lunar mountain at a speed of 3,760 mph as part of the mission's last experiment. The two craft, named Ebb and Flow, have spent the last year building a map of the gravitational forces within the moon. They also carried …
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Moon Dive?
Doesn't have the same ring to it (or effect) as "Sun Dive"!
Re: Moon Dive?
Actually it will make the moon ring more that a sun dive would the sun!
Ebb and Flow
Nicely done NASA folks, somehow those names actually brought a silly grin to my face. Aside from that it sounds like a good deal of data came from the mission even if it was a bit shorter than desired. Cheers.
Re: Ebb and Flow
Indeed, a pint for the boffins.
They seem to be doing well with these "smaller and cheaper" missions - this pair plus of course Spirit and Opportunity all came in on or under budget and gave much more back than their original planning briefs asked of them. All in all perhaps there is some hope for the future in space after all...
Re: Ebb and Flow
"and gave much more back than their original planning briefs asked of them."
think Voyager's
Interesting.
I like how CNN's article described certain aspects of the crash.
They first tell that they named the place where the crashed occurred after the first American astronaut in space. Then, in the next paragraph, they describe the probes as being about the size of a washer and dryer (they misspelled dryer as "dyer"). They then go on to detail the "dykes" under the surface.
I am easily amused.
Re: Interesting.
That should have read "after the first American *female* astronaut in space"...
"GRAIL orbiters make DEATH DIVE into lunar mountain: Impact point honors first female US astronaut"
It's all about her driving?
First Females in space took off in 1946
Some fruit flies went up in a V2. Mice have gone into space in Aerobee rockets, but I cannot find names or sexes for them until 1952: Mildred and Albert rode a rocket with two Phillipine monkeys named Patricia and Mike. Laika did not orbit until 1957, but rocket dogs Dezik and Tsygan made sub-orbital flights in 1951.
Re: First Females in space took off in 1946
And not forgetting Valentina Tereshkova in 1963.
Burn to depletion experiment
So, how did the amount of fuel left compare to NASA's estimates?
Re: Burn to depletion experiment
The only quote I've yet seen was "more than expected"...
Rev Bear Ride?
Am I alone in finding that the most entertaining part of the whole article?
Re: Rev Bear Ride?
I'm more surprised that no-one has said that the probes had a ticket to ride
Re: Rev Bear Ride?
I liked how they honoured a woman who 'ignited children' with a burn to completion.
Re: Ticket To Ride
You will never get a silver star with lame jokes like that
Actually.... the impact speed was...
3,758.8794632 miles per hour for the first one and 3,794.6282093 for the second one.
Not 3,760.
Re: Actually.... the impact speed was...
Thank you Mr. Spock.
Re: Actually.... the impact speed was...
That's more of a Lt Commander Data figure.
Sexist.....honoring women with crash landings...?
Wot? Is this a male thing - honoring women with a crash landing site or is this an inference that female astronauts crash (make mistakes) more in space than men?
men used to infer this on earth, until they realised women had cheaper insurance policies cos they were SAFER!
heavens above. let's ee how many men venture to Venus!
Re: Sexist.....honoring women with crash landings...?
I think you're revealing more about yourself than the people at NASA.
Re: Sexist.....honoring women with crash landings...?
> women had cheaper insurance policies cos they were SAFER!
This is incorrect.
Women had cheaper policies because they were a lower statistical risk. If you think that makes them "safer drivers", consider the number of car crashes recorded where a white mouse was at the wheel...
Vic.
Optional
"The two orbiters that made up NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) have smashed into a lunar mountain at a speed of 3,760 mph as part of the mission's last experiment."
Well, they're claiming it was an experiment! The truth is that they'd discovered that there was a Nazi base under that mountain, and they crashed the two probes into it to destroy it.
That picture reveals a MAJOR discovery: the Moon IS made of cheese
port-soaked Stilton, by the looks of it
Massive underground dykes!!
Lesbians, they get everywhere..
Re: Massive underground dykes!!
Really? I must check my bed...
... nope, none there. Lucky that, I'm tired.
...and so it came to pass. The human race didn't learn of their mistake until several years later when the moon started to drift away at an accelerated rate, caused by the impact of those two probes...
Gerry Anderson was right
This is how Space 1999 happened
Death dive? really? Are they really dead? Are you sure?
Sally gave herself to igniting kids
I can understand that, the little buggers can be annoying.
I really hope...
That when she was alive she always introduced herself as "Ride. Sally Ride."
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