On Friday, September 6, NASA launches the LADEE probe to the moon to study the rarefied atmosphere and study dust particles.

After launch, the LADEE (Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer) spacecraft will spend 5 months en route to the moon, checking the systems and going to the required, almost circular orbit at an altitude of about 50 km above the moon's surface.

Interestingly, one of the tasks of the mission is to ascertain the nature of the strange glow that was observed by astronauts who visited the surface of the moon. Below is a sketch of the glow and rays of Apollo missions observed by astronauts during sunrises and sunsets on the moon.
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After completing the 100-day mission to study the thinnest atmosphere of the moon, the device will change its orbit to an elliptical orbit and proceed to the next task set for it - to test an optical communication system with a large bandwidth (more than 600 Mbps) Lunar Laser Com Demo (LLCD) . Using a laser probe will send and receive signals from the ground. The principle is similar to how a signal is transmitted over a fiber optic cable.

The launch is scheduled for September 6th at 6:30 pm Kyiv time (7:30 pm Moscow time). Start will be made from the spaceport Wallops . The spacecraft is already in the nose of the Minotaur-5 rocket.


The launch will most likely be broadcast online by NASA . I suggest everyone on Friday evening to find 20 minutes of time and see the launch, because it is so great.

Update:
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