Storms May Stall Launch Of Twin Spacecraft To Moon
CAPE CANAVERAL (CBS4) – There may be a delay in NASA's quest to return to the moon. Four decades after landing men on the moon, NASA plans to launch a set of robotic twin spacecraft that will measure lunar gravity while chasing one another in circles. However, bad weather may delay the launch.
The two spacecraft -- Grail-A and Grail-B -- are due to blast off aboard an unmanned Delta II rocket Thursday morning from Cape Canaveral. There are two launch windows Thursday. The first is 8:37 a.m. and the second is 9:16 a.m. however, forecasters say there's a 60 percent chance that storms will delay the flight. The weather should improve this weekend.
NASA is sending the probes on a 9-month mission to explore Earth's nearest neighbor in unprecedented detail. They will determine the structure of the lunar interior from crust to core and advance our understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon.
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