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http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/18/nasa-ladee-crashes-into-moon-on-purpose/
This article confuses me.
It "didn't have enough power to maintain orbit?" Sounds like there was a miscalculation then. Since the moon has no atmosphere (so there's no friction), it should have been able to orbit practically forever (barring unexpected debris impacts). The only fuel needed would be for a few initial corrections to get a stable orbit...then it could go on for hundreds / thousands / millions of years (technically not "forever" because nothing is perfect and even the moon itself acquires mass gradually over time).
The other part that bothers me:
Why would it "burn up" with no atmospheric friction? It would be obliterated on impact with the surface, but it shouldn't "burn up" in any sense...right?
NASA just crashed a satellite into the moon on purpose
You might remember NASA's LADEE as the satellite where the administration tested a new broadband-fast laser communication system for sending data back to Earth. Now, however, the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer is no more, since NASA just crashed the craft into the surface of the Moon. Unfortunately, the vehicle didn't have the power to maintain its orbit, so the bods in Florida decided to send the hardware on a one-way trip. On the upside, the satellite managed to grab some super-detailed scans of the lunar surface before burning up, and it probably looked really cool when it exploded, which probably justifies the wanton destruction of a multi-million dollar spacecraft.
This article confuses me.
It "didn't have enough power to maintain orbit?" Sounds like there was a miscalculation then. Since the moon has no atmosphere (so there's no friction), it should have been able to orbit practically forever (barring unexpected debris impacts). The only fuel needed would be for a few initial corrections to get a stable orbit...then it could go on for hundreds / thousands / millions of years (technically not "forever" because nothing is perfect and even the moon itself acquires mass gradually over time).
The other part that bothers me:
Why would it "burn up" with no atmospheric friction? It would be obliterated on impact with the surface, but it shouldn't "burn up" in any sense...right?