Artist's concept of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Credit: NASA
In total, NASA said, the two impacts will kick up some 500 metric tons of lunar material and begin the search for a long-frozen water source. The project will also examine the Moon's mineral makeup.
It is expected to crash-land into a crater near the south pole of the Moon, kicking up lunar material that can be tested for evidence of frozen water.
Both probes are part of NASA's preparations for the return of American astronauts to the Moon, tentatively planned for around 2020. U.S. astronauts were the first to reach the Moon and the only ones to walk on the Moon's surface, but the United States has not launched a manned lunar mission since 1972.
Constellation project
The new mission is the first step on the long journey to launch manned missions further into our Solar System, to the planet Mars and beyond, from lunar colonies.
U.S. President Barack Obama has said the program, dubbed the Constellation project, needs to be reviewed, but so far has not cast doubt on its goals.
"The robotic mission will give us information we need to make informed decisions about any future human presence on the Moon," program manager Todd May told reporters last week.
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