The mountain where the two spacecraft will make contact is located near a crater named Goldschmidt. Both spacecraft have been flying in formation around the moon since Jan. 1, 2012. They were named by elementary school students in Bozeman, Mont., who won a contest. The first probe to reach the moon, Ebb, also will be the first to go down, at 2:28:40 p.m. PST. Flow will follow Ebb about 20 seconds later. See: NASA Probes Prepare for Mission-Ending Moon Impact
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| GRAIL's Final Resting Spot These maps of Earth's moon highlight the region where the twin spacecraft of NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission will impact on Dec. 17, marking the end of its successful endeavor to map the moon's gravity. The two washing-machine-sized spacecraft, named Ebb and Flow, will impact at an unnamed mountain near the moon's North Pole. These maps are from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Credit: NASA/GSFC |
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