[7] The mission ended on April 18, 2014, when the spacecraft's controllers intentionally crashed LADEE into the far side of the Moon,[8][9] which, later, was determined to be near the eastern rim of Sundman V crater.

According to models proposed starting from 1956,[17] on the daylit side of the Moon, solar ultraviolet and X-ray radiation is energetic enough to knock electrons out of atoms and molecules in the lunar soil.

It is hundreds of thousands of miles long, and was discovered in 1998 as a result of Boston University scientists observing the Leonid meteor storm.

[22][23][24] As of April 2013, it had not yet been determined whether ionized sodium gas atoms or charged dust are the cause of the reported Moon glows.

[27] While concern was expressed that this could disrupt LADEE's mission,[27] such as its baseline readings of the Moon's exosphere, it instead provided additional science value since both the quantity and composition of the spacecraft's propulsion system exhaust were known.

[28][29] It was also possible to observe the migration of water, one component of the exhaust, giving insight on how it is transported and becomes trapped around the lunar poles.

[30] The LADEE mission was designed to address three major science goals:[31] and one technology demonstration goal: LADEE was launched on September 7, 2013, at 03:27 UTC (September 6, 11:27 p.m. EDT), from the Wallops Flight Facility at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on a Minotaur V carrier rocket.

[38] After separating from the Minotaur, high electrical currents were detected in the satellite's reaction wheels causing them to be shut down.

The extension provided an opportunity for the satellite to gather an additional full lunar cycle worth of very low-altitude data to help scientists unravel the nature of the Moon's tenuous exosphere.

[48] Engineers did not expect LADEE to survive, as it was not designed to handle such an environment, but it exited the eclipse with only a few pressure sensor malfunctions.

[9][49] The far side of the Moon was chosen to avoid the possibility of damaging historically important locations such as the Luna and Apollo landing sites.

[8] NASA used the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to image the impact location, which was determined to be near the eastern rim of Sundman V crater.

[10][47][49] LADEE is the first spacecraft designed, integrated, built, and tested by NASA's Ames Research Center.

)[51] LADEE mission makes use of the Modular Common Spacecraft Bus, or body, made of a lightweight carbon composite with an unfueled mass of 248.2 kg (547 lb).

The bus has the ability to perform on various kinds of missions—including voyages to the Moon and Near-Earth objects—with different modules or applicable systems.

[1] Electrical power was generated by a photovoltaic system composed of 30 panels of silicon solar cells producing 295 W at one AU.

[1] Following the science phase, a decommissioning period occurred, during which the altitude was gradually lowered until the spacecraft impacted the lunar surface.

[58] The LADEE science teams continued to analyze data acquired at the time of the Chang'e 3 landing on December 14, 2013.