Posted on 07/04/2009 1:49:32 PM PDT by NorwegianViking
NASA's mission to bomb the Moon NASA will tomorrow launch a spectacular mission to bomb the Moon. Their LCROSS mission will blast off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying a missile that will blast a hole in the lunar surface at twice the speed of a bullet. The missile, a Centaur rocket, will be steered by a shepherding spacecraft that will guide it towards its target - a crater close to the Moon's south pole. Scientists expect the blast to be so powerful that a huge plume of debris will be ejected.
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NASA's mission to bomb the Moon
NASA will tomorrow launch a spectacular mission to bomb the Moon. Their LCROSS mission will blast off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying a missile that will blast a hole in the lunar surface at twice the speed of a bullet.
The missile, a Centaur rocket, will be steered by a shepherding spacecraft that will guide it towards its target - a crater close to the Moon's south pole.
Scientists expect the blast to be so powerful that a huge plume of debris will be ejected.
The attack on the Moon is not a declaration of war or act of wanton vandalism. Space scientists want to see if any water ice or vapour is revealed in the cloud of debris.
Though the Moon mostly a dry airless desert, they believe ice could be trapped in crater shadows near the south pole which never receive any sunlight. If so it could provide vital supplies for a manned moonbase.
Last year, British scientists identified regions where water might be found on the Moon and estimated that there could be enough to fill one of Europe's largest reservoirs.
The spacecraft will not head straight for the Moon. First it will orbit the Earth a number of times while its precise target is identified. Finally, it will send the missile into the Moon at twice the speed of a bullet on October 8.
The shepherding spacecraft will follow close behind, taking pictures and analysing the ejected debris as it looks for evidence of water. It has just four minutes to do this before it crashes into the Moon itself, producing a spectacular explosion that should be visible in amateur astronomers' telescopes.
It is a busy time for Moon crashes. Last week Japan's Kaguya probe collided with the Moon at the end of its own mission.
The LCROSS mission - it stands for Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite - will launch on an Atlas V rocket together with another spacecraft, called the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
The orbiter will circle the Moon for at least a year searching for potential landing sites for astronauts when they return there in the next decade. It will also look for suitable materials that might support a colony.
The dual mission was due to blast off today but was delayed to make way for the shuttle Endeavour. However, another hydrogen leak means that the shuttle launch has now been delayed until next mont
This will disrupt the gravitational pull at Mecca and upset the Islamists, and Barry can’t have that!
gotta put dimensions on it... LOL...
That ought to teach any encroaching Martians! I love it! The Monroe Doctrine expanded to the moon!
ya, don’t they need an environmental impact statement?
And I thought that violence never solved anything?
And that we have to guard against the militarization of space? I know it’s just one mission, but, I’m sure the liberals are afraid this could lead to more bombing missions.
And who are we to disturb the “pristine” environment of the moon? Who are we to cause man-made pollution when a dust cloud is scattered?
And what happens to the rocket and bomb? Do the exploded pieces just sit on the moon for all eternity? Are we going to send a crew to clean up the mess?
There are so many unanswered questions about this. What if there is life of some sort under the moon surface, and we disturb its environment?
Where oh where are the mooselimb human shields?
The aliens living on the moon are non Muslims, so 0bama is just in killing the infidels!
Maybe all the moonies will hold vigils
you guys should look for the video called NASA SEALS
Why not just take one of our saucers up in a couple of hours, shoot a particle beam into the ground and do it that way? Its a lot cheaper....
What the hell did they do to us? That darn Bush, it's all his fault..........unless, unless, its the pod people we're after.
Obama’s making a pre-emptive attack on the Metal Munching Moon Mice before they can get to earth and eat the TV antennas thereby reducing further the viewership of Katie Couric.
The ET’s are only on the dark side so if we just shoot up the other side its ok.....
pout=out when my fingers work...
Katie who? How many metal munching moon mice would that take? Really? (All they'd have to do is land in Mexico and walk across...)
No, it was that big (1987x1987 px), but your browser must have resized it, so it only looked smaller when you viewed it.
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