NASA to bomb the moon

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

NASA plans to bomb the moon early Friday morning. NASA Set to Bomb the Moon:

A NASA spacecraft and its trusty rocket stage are drawing ever closer to the moon to intentionally crash to their doom Friday, all in the name of science.

The cosmic collisions are expected to kick up tons of moon dirt in giant debris plumes that will then be scanned for signs of water ice suspected to be buried beneath the floor of a permanently shadowed crater at the lunar south pole.

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NASA launched the LCROSS probe in June along with a powerful lunar orbiter that is currently circling the moon to determine whether water ice, which could be a vital resource for astronauts in the future, actually exists in the perpetual darkness of craters at the moon's south pole.

Since then, the $79 million LCROSS — short for Lunar Crater Observation Sensing Satellite — has made three long loops around the Earth while attached to an empty Centaur rocket stage, its first weapon in the upcoming lunar double whammy.

The two vehicles are due to separate late tonight and the first impact is set for 7:31 a.m. EDT (1131 GMT). That's when the 42-foot (13-meter) long Centaur rocket stage will plow into the crater Cabeus at the moon's south pole. NASA will start broadcasting the event live on NASA TV at 6:30 a.m. EDT (1030 GMT).

Seasoned amateur astronomers may be able to see the crash using 10 or 12-inch telescopes depending on their location, local weather and lighting conditions. [Click here to see how to watch the LCROSS moon crashes.]

But the first crash is only the prelude. Riding aboard the LCROSS spacecraft are nine different science instruments, including cameras that will beam live views of the impact back to NASA's mission operations center at the Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. Those tools will be used to scan the debris plume for evidence of water ice.

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The 1,664-pound (891-kg) LCROSS shepherding craft will follow its Centaur rocket stage down to make its own crash about four minutes after the initial lunar hit.

More than 20 observatories on Earth, as well as a host of amateur astronomers, museums and volunteers will be watching the two crashes to search for signs of any water ice in the debris clouds. The Hubble Space Telescope and other space-based observatories will also turn their camera eyes on the moon for the event.

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Scientists already know that some small amount of water exists on the moon, but LCROSS is designed to seek out buried water ice at the lunar south pole — a region where the sun has never shined on some craters with permanent shadows.

NASA scientists say the areas may be the coldest places in the solar system, with temperatures reaching minus 400 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 240 Celsius) in the crater shadows. Finding usable amounts of water ice would be a boon for NASA's vision to send astronauts back to the moon by the mid-2020s.

But Friedensen said that it will take time before scientists know if any water is present in the debris plumes. A few hours after the two impacts, LCROSS scientists will hold a press conference, but will likely only be able to discuss how accurate the hits were, she added.

"We will not be able to talk about how much water is there, if it's water we find," she said. "The science team will need a couple of days, maybe even a couple of weeks to make sure."

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SPACE.com is also providing full coverage of the LCROSS moon crash. Click here for a look at the mission and return to SPACE.com at 6:30 a.m. ET (1030 GMT) for live crash coverage.

NB: Film cell from the 1902 French silent short movie classic "Le Voyage dans la lune" (A Trip to The Moon).