Originally published on September 6, 2013

NASA is set to launch a probe today called the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) able to collect lunar dust.

The purpose of the probe is to study the fly-away lunar dust and the envelope of gases that surrounds the moon.

The LADEE spacecraft will blast off from the brand new Minotaur V rocket from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia.

It will be able to capture and analyze dust particles as well as use a neutral mass spectrometer to measure variations in the lunar atmosphere. In addition, the spacecraft has an ultraviolet and visible light spectrometer that studies the composition of the lunar atmosphere.

Additional features include lunar laser communications able to establish a broadband connection to Earth and steering rockets. The probe is about the length of two grown men.

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