Watch livestream as NASA crashes twin GRAIL spacecraft into moon ...at around 4 p.m. CST

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And if the Road Warrior says it, it must be true..
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[h=2]Watch livestream as NASA crashes twin GRAIL spacecraft into moon[/h]
GRAIL_crash_landing_12-17-2012_cropped-300x215.jpg
GRAIL to crash land on moon December 17
NASA will send its twin GRAIL moon probes into the side of a lunar mountain on Monday, December 17. NASA will livestream the event. Links here.

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NASA’s twin GRAIL moon gravity probes – named Ebb and Flow – have nearly run out of fuel. NASA intends to crash the probes into the side of a mountain near the moon’s north pole today (Monday, December 17, 2012) and you can watch it happen live on NASA Television or via livestream from NASA’s website. The show starts with live commentary from NASA scientists at around 4 p.m. CST (2200 UTC). The crash landing will take place around 4:28 CST (2228 UTC) on December 17.

The coverage will also be streamed live on Ustream:
http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2
 

And if the Road Warrior says it, it must be true..
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Who doesn’t want to smash things into the moon?
Well, there’s Amy Ephron of course. And no, Amy, we haven’t forgotten your inanity.
But getting back to people who like smashing things into the moon, are you ready for the GRAIL mission’s demise this afternoon?
Back in January of this year two washing-machine sized probes — nicknamed Ebb and Flow by Montana school kids — linked up a couple of dozen miles above the surface of the moon. They spent most of this year zipping around the moon, in tandem, at 3,600 mph.
Now that their primary mission (see below) is accomplished, and they’re running out of fuel, NASA’s sending them out in style. By crashing them into the moon. They will impact an unnamed mountain near the moon’s north pole this afternoon.
This image shows the final flight path for NASA's twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory. (NASA)

Alas, no video of the impact will be available because the impact site will be in shadow at the appointed hour, 4:28 p.m. CT (2:28 p.m. PT). Nevertheless NASA will provide commentary on the crash beginning at 4 p.m. CT with, you guessed it, streaming video of talking heads and graphics.
So what has GRAIL done?
Flying in formation, Ebb and Flow have been using radio signals to define the distance between them. As they fly over areas of lesser or greater gravity, this distance varies slightly, and this has allowed scientists to create a high-resolution map of the moon’s gravitational field.
An artist's depiction of the twin spacecraft that comprise NASA's GRAIL mission. (NASA)

This information will give scientists insights into what lies beneath the lunar surface, and in addition to enlightening us about the moon, it will tell us about the evolution of Earth and other rocky worlds in the inner solar system.
And in the end, we get to smash them into the moon. Everyone wins.
 

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cool max... thx bud :)

the operator talking to us in the live feed sounds hawt :grandmais

-murph
 

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