LADEE

Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer

Mission Profile

LADEE (Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer) was a NASA scientific mission launched on 7 September 2013 aboard a Minotaur V rocket from NASA Wallops Flight Facility — the first lunar mission ever launched from the East Coast. LADEE orbited the Moon at low altitude to characterize the structure and composition of the tenuous lunar exosphere and determine whether lunar dust is lofted into the exosphere by electrostatic forces or meteoroid impacts, addressing a long-standing question from Apollo-era observations. The mission also successfully demonstrated NASA's Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration (LLCD), achieving record-breaking 622 Mbps downloads from lunar distance using laser communications. LADEE completed its primary mission in April 2014 when it was intentionally crashed into the lunar far side.