NASA acquires data after spacecraft' twin impacts into moon

WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- NASA has successfully collected data after two spacecraft -- the Centaur rocket and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) -- impacted the moon's south pole, the space agency said Friday.

NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS)  impact view is seen in this image released on October 9, 2009.  Two U.S. spacecraft were crashed into a lunar crater Friday but  scientists said it was too early to say whether the mission to  search for supplies of water on the Moon had been a success.  (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

"We have a tremendous amount of data gathered through observation campaign, both ground-based and space-based," said Jennifer Heldmann, coordinator of the LCROSS observation campaign, at a press conference held after the impacts. It will take some time to understand what is seen in the data, Heldmann said.

Anthony Colaprete, LCROSS principal investigator, reports the Centaur impacted as planned and they observed the flash and crater.

"There was an impact," Colaprete said. "We saw the impact. We saw the crater."

Spectrometers aboard LCROSS also gathered a wealth of data from the impact, according to Colaprete. "That, by itself, may constitute enough information to answer some fundamental questions," Colaprete said.