The US space agency (Nasa) is about to launch its latest mission to the Moon.
The unmanned LADEE probe is set to lift-off from the Wallops rocket facility on the US east coast at 23:27 local time (04:27 GMT on Saturday).
Its $280m (£180m) mission is to investigate the very tenuous atmosphere that surrounds the lunar body.
It will also try to get some insights on the strange behaviour of moondust, which appears on occasions to levitate high above the surface.
In addition, LADEE will test a new laser communications system that Nasa hopes at some point to put on future planetary missions. Lasers have the capacity to transmit data at rates that dwarf conventional radio connections.