The DDO worked with NASA and the LCROSS mission back to the moon.

 Earth’s closest neighbor is holding a secret. In 1999, hints of that secret were revealed in the form of concentrated hydrogen signatures detected in permanently shadowed craters at the lunar poles by NASA’s Lunar Prospector. These readings seemed to be an indication of lunar water with far-reaching implications as humans expand exploration past low-Earth orbit. The Lunar CRater Observing and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission was seeking a definitive answer. 

In April 2006, NASA selected the LCROSS proposal for a low-cost, fast-track companion mission to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The main LCROSS mission objective is to confirm the presence or absence of water ice in a permanently shadowed crater near a lunar polar region.

LCROSS launched with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on June 18, 2009 at 2:32 p.m. PDT. The LCROSS shepherding spacecraft and the Atlas V’s Centaur upper stage rocket executed a fly-by of the moon on June 23, 2009 (LCROSS lunar swingby video stream coverage) and entered into an elongated Earth orbit to position LCROSS for impact on a lunar pole. On final approach, the shepherding spacecraft and Centaur separated. The Centaur acted as a heavy impactor to create a debris plume that was intended to rise above the lunar surface. Impact at the lunar South Pole was Oct 9, 2009 at 4:30 a.m. PDT. Following four minutes behind, the shepherding spacecraft flew through the debris plume, collecting and relaying data back to Earth before impacting the lunar surface and creating a second debris plume. 

The debris plumes were difficult for Earth based telescopes to detect but the verdict is in: water was found. 

Poor weather conditions prevented the DDO from monitoring the spacecraft separation but we look forward to collaborating in future with NASA on a variety of projects.