The third stage of Lunar Prospector's Athena is lifted at LC 46 at CCAS

[KSC-97PC-1590]

  • Photo Number: KSC-97PC-1590

  • Release Date: 02-Nov-1997

    • Description: The third stage of the Lockheed Martin Athena launch vehicle is lifted at Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Air Station before mating to the second stage already on the pad. Athena is scheduled to carry the Lunar Prospector spacecraft for an 18- month mission that will orbit the Earth's moon to collect data from the lunar surface. Scientific experiments to be conducted by the Prospector include locating water ice that may exist near the lunar poles, gathering data to understand the evolution of the lunar highland crust and the lunar magnetic field, finding radon outgassing events, and describing the lunar gravity field by means of Doppler tracking. The launch is now scheduled for early- January 1998.

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    Thumbnail GIF 67 100 10231
    Slide GIF 111 156 25115
    Low GIF 160 240 55154
    Medium JPEG 512 768 86879
    High JPEG 1521 2280 782858

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    Captions: Sherikon Space Systems
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    Last Updated: Tuesday August 28 16:05:38 EDT 2001 (Kay Grinter)

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