Lunar Prospector
NASA Lunar Prospector orbited the Moon for almost 19 months to map lunar surface composition and search for polar ice. Launched on 6 January 1998, it mapped composition and gravity, found evidence suggesting water ice at both poles, and ended with a controlled impact on 31 July 1999.
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Identity
- Aliases
- Lunar Prospector MissionProspectorLunar Prospector
- Name
- Lunar Prospector
- Status
- completed
Details
- Astronauts
- -
- Description
- NASA Lunar Prospector orbited the Moon for almost 19 months to map lunar surface composition and search for polar ice. Launched on 6 January 1998, it mapped composition and gravity, found evidence suggesting water ice at both poles, and ended with a controlled impact on 31 July 1999.
- Destination
- Lunar polar orbit for global surface-composition and gravity mapping, followed by a deliberate impact at Shoemaker crater
- End Date
- 1999-07-31
- Outcome
- After almost 19 months in lunar polar orbit, Lunar Prospector produced global maps of lunar composition and gravity, and its neutron spectrometer found hydrogen at both poles interpreted as evidence of water ice. The mission also detected localized magnetic fields and signs of a roughly 600-kilometer iron-rich core; after extended low-altitude observations, NASA deliberately impacted the spacecraft in Shoemaker crater on July 31, 1999, but Earth-based observations found no spectral signature characteristic of water vapor in the resulting dust cloud.
- Programs
- Start Date
- 1998-01-06
- Vehicle Families
- -
Links
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 14, 2026 at 13:59:50 UTC
- Updated Time
- September 8, 2026 at 11:18:45 UTC
Other
- Affiliations
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles
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