Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE)
NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) - pronounced "laddie" - was a robotic mission that orbited the moon to gather detailed information about the structure and composition of the thin lunar atmosphere, and determine whether dust is lofted into the lunar sky. A thorough understanding of these characteristics of our nearest celestial neighbor will help researchers understand other bodies in the solar system, such as large asteroids, Mercury, and the moons of outer planets.
The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer was a NASA lunar exploration and technology demonstration mission.
It was launched on a Minotaur V rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on September 7, 2013.
During its seven-month mission, LADEE orbited the Moon's equator, using its instruments to study the lunar exosphere and dust in the Moon's vicinity.
Instruments included a dust detector, neutral mass spectrometer, and ultraviolet-visible spectrometer, as well as a technology demonstration consisting of a laser communications terminal.
The mission ended on April 18, 2014, when the spacecraft's controllers intentionally crashed LADEE into the far side of the Moon, which, later, was determined to be near the eastern rim of Sundman V crater.
Related Publications
2021.
"Volatiles and Refractories in Surface-Bounded Exospheres in the Inner Solar System.",
Space Science Reviews,
217
(5):
61
[10.1007/s11214-021-00833-8]
[Journal Article/Letter]
2021.
"Water Group Exospheres and Surface Interactions on the Moon, Mercury, and Ceres.",
Space Science Reviews,
217
(6):
74
[10.1007/s11214-021-00846-3]
[Journal Article/Letter]
2016.
"Evidence for a dynamic nanodust cloud enveloping the Moon.",
Nature Geosci,
9
(9):
665-668
[10.1038/ngeo2779]
[Journal Article/Letter]
