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Mission Information
MISSION_NAME LUNAR CRATER OBSERVATION AND SENSING SATELLITE
MISSION_ALIAS LCROSS
MISSION_START_DATE 2009-04-27T12:00:00.000Z
MISSION_STOP_DATE 2009-10-09T12:00:00.000Z
MISSION_DESCRIPTION
MISSION_OBJECTIVES_SUMMARY 
    The scientific objectives of the Lunar Crater Observation and    Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) were to:    * Confirm the presence or absence of water ice in a permanently      shadowed region on the moon.    * Identify the cause of the hydrogen signatures detected at the      lunar poles.    * Determine the amount of water, if present, in the lunar      regolith or soil.    * Determine the composition of the regolith in one of the moon's      permanently shadowed craters.
REFERENCE_DESCRIPTION Andrews, D., LCROSS Lunar Impactor: Pioneering Risk-Tolerant Exploration in a Search for Water on the Moon, Proceedings of the 7th International Planetary Probe Workshop, Barcelona, Spain, (submitted for publication) June 2010.

Colaprete, A., et al., An Overview of The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) Mission - An ESMD Mission to Investigate Lunar Polar Hydrogen, Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, September, Vol. 38, p. 591, 2006

Ennico, K., et al., LCROSS Science Payload Ground Development, Test and Calibration Results, 39th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Lunar and Planetary Science Institute, No. 1391, League City, TX, p 1474, 2008.

Strong, J., et al., Transport and Use of a Centaur Second Stage in Space, AIAA Space Ops 2010 Conference, Delivering on the Dream, AIAA, Washington, DC, Paper 2010-2197 (submitted for publication), 2010.

Tompkins, P., et al., Flight Team Development in Support of LCROSS: A Class D Mission, AIAA Space Ops 2010 Conference, Delivering on the Dream, AIAA, Washington, DC, Paper 2010-2223 (submitted for publication), 2010.

Tompkins, P., et al., Flight Operations for the LCROSS Lunar Impactor Mission, AIAA Space Ops 2010 Conference, Delivering on the Dream, AIAA, Washington, DC, Paper 2010-1986 (submitted for publication), 2010.