LOS ANGELES (AP) — After nearly a year circling the moon, NASA's Ebb and Flow will meet their demise when they crash — on purpose — into the lunar surface.

Just don't expect to see celestial fireworks. Next week's impact near the moon's north pole by the washing machine-sized spacecraft won't carve a gaping crater or kick up a lot of debris. And it'll be dark when it happens.

"We are not expecting a big flash or a big explosion" that will be visible from Earth, said mission chief scientist Maria Zuber of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.