NASA To Bomb The Moon.
 

NASA To Bomb The Moon (PHOTOS)

NASA + Moon= let's bomb it.

Ever wondered what will happen once a missile hits the moon?
Well, we will have to wait and see the results because with the name of science, NASA is going to be launching a missile to the moon.

About damn time we blow up that yellow thing that glows when it gets dark.

Funny story, but a few decades back, a group of geophysicists were pretty gung-ho about setting off a nuke on the surface of the moon for some bitchin' seismic readings :3: Oh, science. You've grown dull and boring with age.

America, science is awesome! Please show your support by getting your articles straight. :mad: This is how silly chain emails get started.

A bomb is not a missile is not a rocket is not... well... I guess the Centaur is still technically a rocket. My understanding is that it ain't got no fuel left, so this is basically going to be a gravity-accelerated kinetic energy weapon, which is way cooler to me. I haven't been keeping up on my science news, so it was pretty neat to hear about this. Watchin' dat countdown clock.

I don't suppose there are any amateur astronomers on this board who have a telescope big enough to see the impact?

The whole point of this is to check for subterranean water. I think that's a pretty neat reason to shoot a rocket at the moon. Plus, it's good to show the arabs they aren't our only target these days.

Heard about this I think yesterday? It seems like an interesting and cool way to see if there are still pockets of water or ice that everyone thinks is still there. Supposedly the moon's effect on the Earth's tides and whatnot won't be affected by the impact? I see videos of people protesting against the experiment, predicting killer tsunamis and tidal waves that will destroy New York, Tokyo, and other coastal cities if it is allowed to go ahead.... :rolleyes:

Looking forward to seeing what NASA finds up there.

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/4700/lol1ni.jpg

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/6873/lol2b.jpg

The only next logical step is to somehow shoot the moon at the Arabs.

Get on it, NASA.

Fuck yeah. It can only fail if the Arabs have Link.

NASA seems to end up with a mess on their hands when the heat and pressure is on them. Putting parachutes in backwards, mixing up feet and metrics, etc.

They'll just get the news as "MOON THE ARABS". Don't expect to see the pictures in newspapers :(

YouTube Video

Also, WHAT A JERK :mad:

UPDATE: The moon is still there. I think we've lost, guys :(

Well I guess they're busy analyzing data at the moment. The video update this morning was basically "look at these photos! Look at these videos!" But they're all just pictures of the crater with no visual indication of the impact, very much like the chase vehicle footage they showed live.

Spectrometers picked up stuff though so science will get done. At the very least it means they didn't miss.

Edit: One odd thing though is that they were expecting a plume of debris to be kicked up, and well... that apparently didn't happen.

And to keep from derailing the thread with science:

YouTube Video

Is it just me, or are the people over at NASA getting crazier and crazier?

"...Genlemen... How do we kill the MOON?"

This wasn't even unusual right before we actually landed on the moon. Didn't they smash a bunch of satellite into the moon before the first moon landing just so we can see what the surface is actually like?

http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/...face-moon.jpeg

"...Brilliant. Gentlemen, opinions?"

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Let it crash on Earth.

http://gambit.mit.edu/updates/Moon.bmp

NASA are unfeeling bastards :(

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/...langers460.jpg

:(:(

Did I neglect to mention I maintain most of NASA's Twitter feeds, including @LCROSS_NASA?

You'd think I would remember to bring something like that up.

This relationship is over, Mike.

I thought that was the main idea concerning Mars.

Same idea for both. Need water for a base on the moon or Mars. Well, maybe not need, but it becomes a lot more possible.

Besides the obvious of needing water to stay alive, it can also be split to produce oxygen and hydrogen. One of which is also needed to stay alive, and both of which are needed to launch a rocket.

Pretty soon, the moon will become habitable just like in the Star Trek Universe! :D It would be pretty cool though to find out there is water there and that the possibility of it becoming habitable. However, that could change a lot of the things we already experience about the moon. What would happen if an atmosphere was created. Its too bad that science sometimes creates more questions than answers.

they really bombing or are they sending spores out there as well if they are looking for water?


me thinks these are just the first step. i actually can't wait for the helium-3 wars on the moon.

Depends on your definition of bomb, I guess. They sent a rocket straight into the lunar surface at twice the speed of sound. It did not have an explosive payload, but could be classified as a kinetic weapon I suppose.

They found water on the moon

Not sure if this is old news for people, but I just heard about it it this morning. Mission success.

I read it this morning on Current too. In before water bottling companies make bids to buy rights to MoonWater™.

I'm not sure why everyone is surprised. Mars has water on it, wouldn't our closest celestial neighbor as well? It just makes sense.

Probably because scientific progress doesn't work on the basis of things "just making sense". Quite the opposite in most cases.

I would imagine it also depends on which theory of the moon's formation you buy into as well, as well as theories as to what brought that significant amount of water to earth in the first place.

I'm questioning the veracity of the surprise, not the scientific method, you bubble-headed booby!

I think the surprise might be in them saying a "significant amount."