NASA is launching a dramatic mission to bomb the moon.
The LCROSS (Lunar CRater Observing and Sensing Satellite) mission will send a missile traveling at twice the speed of a bullet to blast a hole in the lunar surface near the moon's South pole.
Scientists expect the impact of the Centaur rocket to be powerful enough to eject a huge plume of debris from the moon. The moon dust should even be large enough to be seen from earth through telescopes 10-to-12 inches and larger, says NASA.
So what's our beef with the moon?
The bombing isn't an act of hostility: it's all part of our search for water in space.
The missile will impact the lunar surface at crater Cabeus A (see photo below). The crater is located on the moon's South pole, an area in which scientists estimate there may be billions of tons of trapped ice.
If you get the NASA Channel, they will be showing the event LIVE beginning at 0330 Friday AM. (hey, your getting up to go fishing, anyway..LOL.)
Have also heard that, if you have your own telescope, you'll need a minimum of 10" of aperture in order to see any of the crash or to see the "ejection plume".
Sadly, my little 4" APO refractor hasn't quite got the muscle, so, the TV and hot cup of coffee will have to do.
Registered: 01/02/08
Posts: 2544
Loc: Santa Rosa, CA
Originally Posted By: Hankster
If they find any water I hope they send it to southern California so they can quit stealing ours.
never happen - sierra club is all over this one. water depletion would endanger the Cabeus A Crater Smelt and destroy the food chain. the bombing alone will get them "threatened" status
_________________________
Don't believe everything that you think.
"Holy hell son, you're about as useful as a cock flavored lollipop."
If the moon was a solid block of ice, it wouldn't matter because we couldn't get enough of it here to make a difference, except to sell .001ML vials of it at the Air & Space Museum Gift Shop for $1000 each, and even then NASA would lose money on the venture.
Registered: 01/11/07
Posts: 4898
Loc: in the mass production zone
i always thought the russians legally owned the moon. it was part of the alaska land purchase from them. we give them 3 cents an acre for the entire parcel of alaska and we throw in the moon. it was deeded into the deal. if this is indeed the truth the russians are not going to happy with us bombing thier moon.