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NASA's Hubble Looks for Poss
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| Title |
NASA's Hubble Looks for Possible Moon Resources |
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NASA's Hubble Looks for Poss
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| Title |
NASA's Hubble Looks for Possible Moon Resources |
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NASA's Hubble Looks for Poss
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| Title |
NASA's Hubble Looks for Possible Moon Resources |
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NASA's Hubble Looks for Poss
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| Title |
NASA's Hubble Looks for Possible Moon Resources |
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NASA's Hubble Looks for Poss
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| Title |
NASA's Hubble Looks for Possible Moon Resources |
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NASA's Hubble Looks for Poss
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| Title |
NASA's Hubble Looks for Possible Moon Resources |
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NASA's Hubble Looks for Poss
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| Title |
NASA's Hubble Looks for Possible Moon Resources |
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NASA's Hubble Looks for Poss
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| Title |
NASA's Hubble Looks for Possible Moon Resources |
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NASA's Hubble Looks for Poss
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| Title |
NASA's Hubble Looks for Possible Moon Resources |
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NASA's Hubble Looks for Poss
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| Title |
NASA's Hubble Looks for Possible Moon Resources |
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NASA's Hubble Looks for Poss
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| Title |
NASA's Hubble Looks for Possible Moon Resources |
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NASA's Hubble Looks for Poss
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| Title |
NASA's Hubble Looks for Possible Moon Resources |
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NASA's Hubble Looks for Poss
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| Title |
NASA's Hubble Looks for Possible Moon Resources |
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NASA's Hubble Looks for Poss
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| Title |
NASA's Hubble Looks for Possible Moon Resources |
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Destination: Moon
| Title |
Destination: Moon |
| Explanation |
Tuesday, January 6, at 9:28 p.m. EST, NASA's Lunar Prospector [ http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov/ ] spacecraft climbed into the sky [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/payload/missions/prospector/movies/ athena2.mpg ] above Cape Canaveral Air Station riding an Athena II rocket [ http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/schedule/mixfleet.htm ]. Representing NASA's first Moon mission since the 1972 flight of Apollo 17 [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/pao/apollo17/ ], this launch also occurred on the 30th anniversary of the launch of the Surveyor 7 lunar lander [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/surveyor.html ]. The three stage launch vehicle's [ http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov/project/launchp.html ] fiery trail is in the foreground of this time exposure [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/payload/missions/prospector/images/ captions/KSC-98EC-0107.html ] while the Moon [ http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov/education/tg/teach1.html ], near first quarter phase [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960919.html ], is shown in the background some 250,000 miles from the Cape. Prospector will cover that distance [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960727.html ] in about 5 days, entering lunar orbit on Sunday. Prospector carries no cameras to image the well-photographed [ http://www.nrl.navy.mil/clementine/clib/ ] lunar surface. Instead, its array of instruments [ http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov/science/instrumentss.html ] will map the lunar gravity, magnetic field, internal structure, and surface composition. The result, a detailed global view of current lunar properties [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980107.html ], is expected to dramatically impact [ http://www.njin.net/~dmollica/index.html ] humanity's understanding of the origins [ http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov/science/overview.html ] of the Moon and the Solar System. From its vantage point [ http://www.moonlink.com/ ] in polar orbit, only 63 miles above the lunar surface, Prospector will also conduct a sensitive search for water ice which may be preserved [ http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/PSRdiscoveries/Dec96/IceonMoon.html ] in permanent shadow at the Moon's South Pole [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961204.html ]. |
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