Launch Dates: 2013
Date: August 12
Mission: Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE)
Launch Vehicle: Minotaur V
Launch Site: Wallops Flight Facility, Va.
Launch Pad: Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0B
Description: LADEE will gather detailed information about conditions near the surface and environmental influences on lunar dust. A thorough understanding of these influences will help researchers understand how future exploration may shape the lunar environment and how the environment may affect future explorers.
Image courtesy of NASA