NASA Grail Probes Begin Mapping Moon

The cruise to the moon took 3 1/2 months and covered 2 1/2 million miles – far longer than the direct three-day flight by Apollo astronauts. Over the New Year's weekend, a pair of NASA spacecraft arrived back-to-back at their destination in the first mission devoted to studying lunar gravity.
Mission controllers at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory did not toast champagne – there's a no alcohol policy on campus – but several belatedly heralded the new year by with noisemakers.

"We can start celebrating the new year now," project manager David Lehman said Sunday after attending a post-mission fete where cake and sparkling cider were served.

The tricky arrivals occurred 24 hours apart. The drama unfolded on New Year's Eve when Grail-A flew over the south pole, fired its engine and dropped into lunar orbit. Its twin Grail-B repeated the maneuvers on New Year's Day.

Cheers and applause filled mission control when each probe signaled it was healthy and circling the moon.