A major feature of the Moon's gravitational field is the presence of mascons, which are large positive gravity anomalies associated with some of the giant impact basins. These anomalies significantly influence the orbit of spacecraft around the Moon, and an accurate gravitational model is necessary in the planning of both crewed and uncrewed ...

3 days ago · Another one, called the Lunar-g Combustion Investigation, studied "how materials catch fire in the moon's gravity compared to Earth's," Blue Origin wrote. "The findings will help NASA and its ...

3 days ago · The old saying — “Practice makes perfect!” — applies to the Moon too. On Tuesday, NASA gave 17 technologies, instruments, and experiments the chance to practice being on the Moon… without actually going there. Instead, it was a flight test aboard a vehicle adapted to simulate lunar gravity for approximately two minutes.

Jan 30, 2025 · While you were there, you’d notice that the gravity on the surface of the Moon is one-sixth of Earth’s, which is why in footage of moonwalks, astronauts appear to almost bounce across the surface.

3 days ago · The New Shepard mission is far from the first to carry scientific payloads to the edge of space, but it was the first to mimic the moon's gravity. The gravitational pull of the lunar surface is ...

Jan 11, 2024 · The orbit changes over the course of the year so the distance from the Moon to Earth roughly ranges from 357,000 km to 407,000 km, giving velocities ranging from 1.100 to 0.966 km/s. Lunar Atmosphere

The goal of the GRAIL mission was to obtain a map of the lunar gravity field with a resolution of 30 kilometers, equivalent to degree and order 180 in spherical harmonics (the typical basis functions used for gravity studies).

Aug 2, 2024 · Like other rocky bodies in the solar system, including Earth, the Moon has both a bumpy surface and a lumpy interior. Spacecraft in orbit around the Moon experience slight variations in gravity caused by both of these irregularities. This free-air gravity map highlights these deviations.

Nov 3, 2024 · Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) was a dual-spacecraft mission that involved placing two identical spacecraft in orbit around the Moon to use high-quality gravitational field mapping to determine its internal structure. The mission was the 11th in NASA’s Discovery Program.

NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission has obtained a globally accurate lunar gravity field that resolves the major structural elements of both fresh and degraded impact basins.