Clementine (spacecraft)
Clementine (officially called the Deep Space Program Science Experiment (DSPSE)) was a joint space project between the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (previously the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization) and NASA, launched on January 25, 1994. Its objective was to test sensors and spacecraft components in long-term exposure to space and to make scientific observations of both the Moon and the near-Earth asteroid 1620 Geographos.
This article is about the American Lunar probe. For the French satellite, see Clementine (satellite).$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#0__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
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Bistatic Radar Experiment[edit]
The "Bistatic Radar Experiment", improvised during the mission, was designed to look for evidence of lunar water at the Moon's poles. Radio signals from the Clementine probe's transmitter were directed towards the Moon's north and south polar regions and their reflections detected by Deep Space Network receivers on Earth. Analysis of the magnitude and polarisation of the reflected signals suggested the presence of volatile ices, interpreted as including water ice, in the Moon's surface soils. A possible ice deposit equivalent to a sizeable lake was announced. However, later studies made using the Arecibo radio telescope showed similar reflection patterns even from areas not in permanent shadow (and in which such volatiles cannot persist), leading to suggestions that Clementine's results had been misinterpreted and were probably due to other factors such as surface roughness.[6][7][8]
Results[edit]
Observation of the asteroid was not made due to a malfunction in the spacecraft.
The lunar observations included imaging at various wavelengths in the visible as well as in ultraviolet and infrared, laser ranging altimetry, gravimetry, and charged particle measurements. These observations were for the purposes of obtaining multi-spectral imaging of the entire lunar surface, assessing the surface mineralogy of the Moon, obtaining altimetry from 60N to 60S latitude, and obtaining gravity data for the near side. There were also plans to image and determine the size, shape, rotational characteristics, surface properties, and cratering statistics of Geographos.
Artifacts[edit]
The engineering model of the Clementine spacecraft hangs in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.[10]
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424 kg[2]
227 kilograms (500 lb)
1,850 watts
January 25, 1994, 16:34:00 UTC
May 10, 1995[3]
5,116.0 kilometres (3,178.9 mi)
0.36
2,162 kilometres (1,343 mi)
4,594 kilometres (2,855 mi)
90°
300 minutes
February 21, 1994
May 3, 1994