PASADENA (AP) — A NASA spacecraft has successfully slipped into orbit around the moon.

A roomful of scientists and engineers monitoring the New Year’s Eve maneuver clapped after the Grail-A probe signaled that it was circling the moon.

The celebration was brief. Mission team members looked ahead to New Year’s Day when twin Grail-B was scheduled to perform the same move.

The duo will study the moon’s gravity to determine what’s inside straight down to the core.

The $496 million mission is managed by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

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