Blastoff: Spacecraft Rockets Toward the Moon

The Delta II rocket carrying twin lunar orbiters blasted off from Cape Canaveral, FL successfully Saturday and should reach the moon by New Year's Day, Jet Propulsion Laboratory has announced.

The -managedthe Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, will help answer questions about Earth's moon, and provide a clearer understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in our solar system formed.

Engineers received communications from both GRAIL spacecraft early Saturday, and their solar arrays have deployed, according to NASA.

Both GRAIL spacecraft separated on schedule and so far, all systems are working as expected, NASA anounced. It will take the two spacecraft until New Year's Eve and New Year's Day to reach the moon.

The mission will position two spacecraft into the same orbit around the Moon. As these orbiters fly over the lunar surface they will measure velocity as affected by the Moon’s gravity and landscape. According to NASA, scientists will create a “high-resolution map of the Moon’s gravitational field” using these measurements.