How NASA's Grail Probes Will Map the Moon's Gravity (Infographic)

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Infographic shows how GRAIL mission maps the moon's gravity field
Infographic shows how GRAIL mission maps the moon's gravity field (Image credit: Karl Tate, SPACE.com)

NASA's twin Grail probes are designed to map the moon's gravity field like no other spacecraft before. The $496 million mission will use the ultra-precise moon gravity maps to help scientists better understand the moon's composition and structure, as well as how the moon evolved during its formation. Learn how the Grail mission works in the SPACE.com infographic above.

Karl Tate
Karl Tate
Space.com contributor

Karl's association with Space.com goes back to 2000, when he was hired to produce interactive Flash graphics. From 2010 to 2016, Karl worked as an infographics specialist across all editorial properties of Purch (formerly known as TechMediaNetwork).  Before joining Space.com, Karl spent 11 years at the New York headquarters of The Associated Press, creating news graphics for use around the world in newspapers and on the web.  He has a degree in graphic design from Louisiana State University and now works as a freelance graphic designer in New York City.