An unusual and delicate "oversized load" is headed down the highway for the Space Coast. A truck carrying a lunar probe scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral in April began its delivery from Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland early this morning.
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, is expected to arrive Friday at Astrotech in Titusville for processing.
It is targeted for an April 24 liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The mission is a precursor to the planned 2020 return of astronauts to the moon. Over at least a year, the orbiter's seven science instruments will map the moon's surface and composition, and identify potential landing sites.
The orbiter will launch with the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, which is designed to search for water on the moon. The LCROSS spacecraft and Centaur upper stage rocket will create two high-speed impacts on the moon's surface, causing a debris plume that will be visible by amateur telescopes on Earth.
Before crashing, the spacecraft will analyze the plume created by the rocket for evidence of water ice or vapor.
IMAGE NOTE: Click to enlarge the images. Above, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, is prepared and crated for its trip to the Space Coast this morning. Credit: NASA/Andy Freeberg. Below, the truck that is driving LRO to Florida left the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland before dawn to avoid as much traffic as possible. Credit: NASA
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