NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft is lowering its orbital altitude over the moon as it prepares for a planned impact into the lunar surface before the end of April.
LADEE will make its last orbital maintenance maneuver before a total lunar eclipse occurs on April 15. During the eclipse, the spacecraft will go through extreme conditions, according to a NASA press release.
"The moon's gravity field is so lumpy, and the terrain is so highly variable with crater ridges and valleys that frequent maneuvers are required or the LADEE spacecraft will impact the moon's surface," said Butler Hine, LADEE's project manager, according to the release.
LADEE, which is the size of a vending-machine, has been orbiting the moon since Oct. 6. It launched from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va., on Sept. 6, 2013.
LADEE started gathering data on Nov. 10, and on Nov. 20 it entered its science orbit around the moon's equator, according to NASA.
The spacecraft has been in extended mission operations following a highly successful 100-day prime science phase.
LADEE managers expect the spacecraft to impact the moon's surface on or around April 21.
"Even if we perform all maneuvers perfectly, there's still a chance LADEE could impact the moon sometime before April 21, which is when we expect LADEE's orbit to naturally decay after using all the fuel onboard, "Hine added.
NASA wants you to guess when LADEE will impact the moon's surface through the "Take the Plunge: LADEE Impact Challenge."
Winners will be revealed after impact and will be e-mailed a commemorative, personalized certificate from the LADEE program, according to the release.
The deadline to enter the contest April 11 at 3 p.m. PDT.
"We want to thank all those that watched LADEE launch and have followed the mission these past months," said Jim Green, NASA's Director for Planetary Science at NASA Headquarters in Washington, according to the release. "Our Moon holds a special place in so many cultures, and because of LADEE, we'll know more than ever before about our nearest neighbor."
See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?
