Douglas Isbell
Headquarters, Washington, DC             September 10, 1997
(Phone:  202/358-1753)

David Morse / Michael Mewhinney
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
(Phone:  650/604-4724 or 604-9000)

RELEASE:  97-193

LAUNCH OF LUNAR PROSPECTOR RESCHEDULED FOR LATE NOVEMBER

     Launch of NASA's Lunar Prospector mission to explore the 
Moon has been rescheduled from late September to Nov. 23, 1997.

     The schedule change occurred because additional time is 
needed to complete testing and preparation of the new 
Lockheed Martin LMLV2 launch vehicle.

     Lunar Prospector is the first competitively selected 
venture in NASA's Discovery Program series of "faster, 
better, cheaper" space science exploration missions.  The 
entire mission, including the 660-pound spacecraft, its 
launch vehicle, science instruments and data operations and 
delivery, has been developed at a total cost of $62.8 million.

     Following its launch and cruise to the Moon, Lunar 
Prospector will orbit above the Moon's surface at an altitude 
of approximately 63 miles during a one-year mapping mission.  
Its five science instruments will provide detailed data on 
the composition and gravity field of the entire lunar 
landscape, of which more than 75 percent remains virtually 
unexplored.  One key mission objective is to provide direct 
evidence of the presence or absence of ice in the shaded 
regions of the lunar poles.

     The Lunar Prospector mission is being managed by NASA's 
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, through a prime 
contract with Lockheed Martin Corporation, Sunnyvale, CA.  
The launch vehicle is being provided by Lockheed Martin 
Astronautics, Denver, CO, as part of the prime contract.  The 
launch will occur from Launch Complex 46 on Cape Canaveral 
Air Station, FL.

     Initially scheduled for Sept. 24, 1997, the Lunar 
Prospector launch was delayed by the prior launch of NASA's 
Lewis spacecraft on an LMLV1 launch vehicle.  That launch was 
accomplished successfully on Aug. 23, although later problems 
developed with the Lewis spacecraft itself.  A successful 
launch of the LMLV1 was a necessary step before the first use 
of the LMLV2.  The principal difference between the two 
versions of the LMLV launch vehicle is the addition of an 
extra Castor 120 solid rocket motor.