GRAIL

E648458

GRAIL was a NASA lunar mission that used twin spacecraft to map the Moon’s gravitational field in unprecedented detail to study its internal structure and evolution.

All labels observed (5)

Label Occurrences
GRAIL mission 3
GRAIL canonical 1
GRAIL-A 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf NASA lunar mission
lunar gravity mission
arrivalAtMoon 2011-12
communicationBand X-band
countryOfOrigin United States
dataType high-resolution gravity field measurements
endOfMissionEvent controlled impact on the Moon
fullName Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory
linked to: GRAIL
fundingAgency NASA Science Mission Directorate
heritageFrom Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)
linked to: GRACE mission
impactFeatureName Sally Ride Crater
impactLocation near the lunar north pole
institutionOfPI Massachusetts Institute of Technology
launchDate 2011-09-10
launchMass approximately 307 kilograms per spacecraft
launchSite Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 17B
launchVehicle Delta II 7920H-10C
linked to: Delta II
managedBy NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
measurementTechnique microwave ranging between twin spacecraft
missionClass Discovery-class mission
missionEnd 2012-12-17
missionType lunar gravity mapping mission
namedFeatureHonors Sally Ride
linked to: Sally K. Ride
nickname Ebb
Flow
objective improve understanding of lunar crust and mantle structure
investigate the Moon’s thermal evolution
study the Moon’s internal structure
operatedBy NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
operator NASA
orbitAltitude low lunar orbit
orbitType near-circular polar lunar orbit
primaryObjective map the Moon’s gravitational field in high detail
principalInvestigator Maria T. Zuber
program NASA Discovery Program
relatedMission GRACE
linked to: GRACE mission
result constrained models of lunar interior structure
improved understanding of lunar impact basins
produced the most detailed global lunar gravity map to date
provided insights into the Moon’s thermal and magmatic history
revealed crustal thickness variations of the Moon
scienceInstrument Lunar Gravity Ranging System
sciencePhaseStart 2012-03
spacecraft GRAIL-A
linked to: GRAIL

GRAIL-B
linked to: GRAIL
spacecraftBus Lockheed Martin-built spacecraft bus
status completed
target Moon
uses twin spacecraft

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (7)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Mare Cognitum gravityFieldStudiedBy GRAIL mission
linked to: GRAIL
GRAIL fullName Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory
linked to: GRAIL
GRAIL spacecraft GRAIL-A
linked to: GRAIL
GRAIL spacecraft GRAIL-B
linked to: GRAIL
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory programs includesProgram GRAIL mission
linked to: GRAIL
United States lunar exploration program componentProgram GRAIL mission
linked to: GRAIL