Wind Delays NASA Launch Of Twin Moon Spacecraft
End Of An Era
CAPE CANAVERAL (CBS4) – There’s been a delay in NASA’s quest to return to the moon. High wind is keeping NASA’s newest moon probes on Earth longer than expected.
An unmanned Delta II rocket was scheduled to blast off Thursday with a set of robotic twin spacecraft. But just minutes before the planned launch time, NASA halted the countdown because of gusty wind. NASA will try again Friday morning.
NASA is sending the two spacecraft, Grail-A and Grail-B, on a 9-month mission to explore Earth’s nearest neighbor in unprecedented detail.
The Grail mission is the first in more than 50 years of lunar exploration that’s dedicated to measuring the moon’s gravity. The twin probes will chase one another around the moon, providing a precise gravity map and determine the structure of the lunar interior from crust to core.
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