Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory

The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) was an American lunar science mission in NASA's Discovery Program which used high-quality gravitational field mapping of the Moon to determine its interior structure. The two small spacecraft GRAIL A (Ebb) and GRAIL B (Flow) were launched on 10 September 2011 aboard a single launch vehicle: the most-powerful configuration of a Delta II, the 7920H-10. GRAIL A separated from the rocket about nine minutes after launch, GRAIL B followed about eight minutes later. They arrived at their orbits around the Moon 25 hours apart. The first probe entered orbit on 31 December 2011 and the second followed on 1 January 2012. The two spacecraft impacted the Lunar surface on December 17, 2012.

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2011 Website,  Wikimedia, Wikidata
GRAIL
space mission, Delta II, 

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Location: KML, Cluster Map, Maps,

2011-09-10T00:00:00Z

2011-09-10T00:00:00Z

2011 Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory

2011-12-31T00:00:00Z

2011-12-31T00:00:00Z

service entry

2011-09-10T00:00:00Z

2011-09-10T00:00:00Z

rocket launch

2012-12-17T00:00:00Z

2012-12-17T00:00:00Z

lunar impact

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Frameless

Illustration of GRAIL spacecraft over the Moon (PIA13965)

GRAIL Artwork

Maria Zuber answers a reporter's question at a press briefing about the upcoming launch to the moon of the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission in Washington.

GRAIL Artwork

GRAIL Artwork cropped

GRAIL

GRAIL (cropped)

GRAIL image0011

GRAIL-spacecraft4 cropped

GRAIL-image0011-fr

• The Density and Porosity of Lunar Impact Breccias and Impact Melt Rocks and Implications for Gravity Modeling of Impact Basin Structure - conference paper published in 2015, Q1860, online
• Gravity field of the Moon from the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission - scientific article published on 05 December 2012, Q1860, online
• GRAIL, LLR, and LOLA Constraints on the Interior Structure of the Moon - conference paper published in 2016, Q1860, online
• GRAIL Constraints on the Vertical Density Structure of the Lunar Crust - conference paper published in 2014, Q1860, online
• GRAIL Gravity Field of the Lunar South Polar Region - conference paper published in 2013, Q1860, online
• Gravity field of the Orientale basin from the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory Mission - scientific article published on 27 October 2016, Q1860, online
• Constraints on the Distribution and Thickness of Mare Basalts and Cryptomare from GRAIL - conference paper published in 2015, Q1860, online
• High-Resolution Estimates of Lunar Crustal Density and Porosity from the GRAIL Extended Mission - conference paper published in 2013, Q1860, online
• Ancient igneous intrusions and early expansion of the Moon revealed by GRAIL gravity gradiometry - scientific article published on 05 December 2012, Q1860, online
• GRAIL Reveals Secrets of the Lunar Interior - magazine article from 'Lunar and Planetary Information Bulletin' published in 2013, English, online
• Properties of the Lunar Interior: Preliminary Results from the GRAIL Mission - conference paper published in 2013, Q1860, online
• Lunar impact basins revealed by Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory measurements - scientific article, Q1860, 2015, online
• GRAIL, LLR, and LOLA constraints on the interior structure of the Moon - scholarly article, Q1860, 2016, online
• Lunar bulk chemical composition: a post-Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory reassessment - scientific article, Q1860, 2014, online
• The Geophysical Nature of the Procellarum Region of the Moon as Revealed by GRAIL Gravity Data - conference paper published in 2014, Q1860, online
• Small-scale density variations in the lunar crust revealed by GRAIL - scientific article published on 01 July 2016, Q1860, 2017, online
• Revised Thickness of the Lunar Crust from GRAIL Data: Implications for Lunar Bulk Composition - conference paper published in 2013, Q1860, online
• Gravity Field of the Orientale Basin from the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) Mission - conference paper published in 2015, Q1860, online
• Small Scale Density Variations in the Lunar Crust as seen in GRAIL Data - conference paper published in 2014, Q1860, online
• The Density and Porosity of Lunar Impact Breccias and Impact Melt Rocks and Implications for GRAIL Gravity Modeling of the Orientale Impact Basin Structure - conference paper published in 2015, Q1860, online
• Lunar interior properties from the GRAIL mission - article by James G. Williams et al published July 2014 in Journal of geophysical research. Planets, Q1860, online
• GRAIL Mission Constraints on the Thermal Structure and Evolution of the Moon - conference paper published in 2016, Q1860, online
• Lunar and Planetary Information Bulletin, Issue 132 - issue published in 2013, English
• The Subsurface Structure of the Compton-Belkovich Thorium Anomaly as Revealed by GRAIL - conference paper published in 2015, Q1860
• A High-Resolution View of the Orientale Basin and Surroundings from the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) - conference paper published in 2014, Q1860
• Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL): Extended Mission and Endgame Status - conference paper published in 2013, Q1860

Type	Subtype	Date	Description	Notes	Source
commons	image		Illustration of GRAIL spacecraft over the Moon (PIA13965)		Commons
commons	image		GRAIL Artwork		Commons
commons	image		Maria Zuber answers a reporter's question at a press briefing about the upcoming launch to the moon of the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission in Washington.		Commons
commons	image		GRAIL Artwork		Commons
commons	image		GRAIL Artwork cropped		Commons
commons	image		GRAIL		Commons
commons	image		GRAIL (cropped)		Commons
commons	image		GRAIL image0011		Commons
commons	image		GRAIL-spacecraft4 cropped		Commons
commons	image		GRAIL-image0011-fr		Commons