LCROSS satellite completes initial mission

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif., June 23 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency says its Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite has successfully completed its most significant early mission.

The NASA satellite completed a lunar swing-by Tuesday and a calibration of its science instruments. The satellite will search for water ice in a permanently shadowed crater at the moon's south pole.

"With the assist of the moon's gravity, LCROSS and its attached Centaur booster rocket successfully entered into polar Earth orbit at 9:20 a.m. EDT," NASA said, noting the maneuver puts the spacecraft and Centaur on course for two Oct. 9 impacts near the moon's south pole.

During its swing-by, the spacecraft's instruments were turned on and calibrated by scanning three sites on the lunar surface that offer a variety of terrain types, compositions and illumination conditions. NASA scientists said the spacecraft also scanned the lunar horizon to confirm its instruments are aligned in preparation for observing the Centaur's debris plume.

LCROSS and its attached Centaur upper stage rocket are now in a long, looping polar orbit around Earth and the moon. They are to collide with the moon at approximately 7:30 a.m. EDT Oct. 9, creating a pair of debris plumes that will be analyzed for the presence of water ice or water vapor, hydrocarbons and hydrated materials.