NASA's lunar probe successfully enters moon orbit

WASHINGTON, June 23 (Xinhua) -- After a four-and-a-half-day journey from Earth, a Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has successfully entered orbit around the moon, NASA said Tuesday.

One of the first images released from NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) using the visible light camera during  the swingby of the moon. A space probe that scientists hope will provide new information about the moon ahead of future manned US moon missions entered lunar orbit on Tuesday, four and a half days after it was launched aboard a rocket, NASA said.(AFP/NASA)

Engineers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, confirmed the spacecraft's lunar orbit at 6:27 a.m. EDT (1027 GMT) Tuesday.

During the orbiter's trip to the moon, engineers performed a mid-course correction to get the spacecraft in the proper position to reach its destination.

"Lunar orbit insertion is a crucial milestone for the mission," said Cathy Peddie, LRO deputy project manager at Goddard. "The LRO mission cannot begin until the moon captures us. Once we enter the moon's orbit, we can begin to build up the dataset needed to understand in greater detail the lunar topography, features and resources."

A series of four engines will put the satellite into its commissioning phase orbit in the next four days. During the commissioning phase, which will end approximately 60 days after launch, each of the spacecraft's seven instruments will be checked out and brought online.

For its primary mission, LRO will orbit around the moon for one year. The spacecraft's instruments will help scientists compile high-resolution, three-dimensional maps of the lunar surface.

The satellite will explore the moon's deepest craters, examine permanently sunlit and shadowed regions, and provide understanding of the effects of lunar radiation on humans.