Weather Delays NASA Moon Mission
Thursday, September 8, 2011
By: Judith Smelser

September 8, 2011 | WMFE - High winds at Cape Canaveral forced NASA to cancel today's scheduled launch of a Delta II rocket carrying an unmanned lunar mission. The agency will try again Friday morning.

[Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett]

The lunar mission, called "GRAIL,” will send two small satellites to measure the moon's gravity field.  Scientists hope that will shed light on the moon’s interior composition.  They believe the mission will give them a deeper understanding of other planets as well.

"Other planets in the inner part of the solar system have gone through the same processes that the moon has gone through,” said GRAIL researcher Maria Zuber.  “Because we’ve studied the moon so significantly … I actually think in the next five years we’re going to rewrite the book on our understanding of the inner planets.”

NASA will try again to launch the GRAIL mission Friday morning at 8:33am and 9:12am.  The agency has launch opportunities every day through October 19.