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Nasa Fires a "Missile" into the Moon.
Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 5:43 pm
by balon!
God I hope this doesn't kill us all by knocking it off course.
Am I the only one who sees this as ridiculously stupid?
We're shooting the MOON with a rocket.
WTF!?
https://www.scientificamerican.com/arti ... on-2009-06
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 month.
Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 6:15 pm
by Avatar
No you're not.
Well, not a rocket in the military sense.
The Centaur is actually the upper stage of the Atlas rocket which is used to launch space vehicles.
What they're actually doing is manouvering the
spent upper stage of the rocket into an orbit that will cause it to crash into the moon. (Usually they just jettison the spent casing I think.)
Describing it as firing a missile into the moon is...hyperbolic at best. (In the sense of audience perception at least.)
www.popularmechanics.com/science/air_space/4277592.html
--A
Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 6:27 pm
by balon!
Well that's good to know. At least it's not filled with dynamite or something crazy.
Course, this is the best opportunity all the classic villains were waiting for. What better doomsday device than sneaking a nuke onto a moonrocket?
Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 6:35 pm
by Menolly
My astronomy knowledge stinks, but even so...
Aren't the craters supposedly results of the Moon's surface being hit by meteors and/or comets? Surely a comet striking the Moon would have much more force than even a nuclear warhead being snuck on to a missile, and then somehow detonated at the precise instant of impact. I don't think we need worry about the Moon being shifted off course.
...then again, I could be totally mistaken... 
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 12:53 am
by Romeo
Yes - Menolly is correct. The moon is what we in the scientific community call "very, very big." It would take something of a relatively equal bigness to move it from its orbit. However, the effects of such an object have been calculated and are depicted in this NASA training video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhAobPugvsk
(thanks to the TV thread for pointing this out *grin*)
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 1:01 am
by Fist and Faith
Never understood why everybody didn't just suffocate when the atmosphere was ripped away.
Re: Nasa Fires a "Missle" into the Moon.
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 2:51 am
by dANdeLION
balon! wrote:God I hope this doesn't kill us all by knocking it off course.
Am I the only one who sees this as ridiculously stupid?
We're shooting the MOON with a rocket.
WTF!?
That rocket could no more knock the moon off course than a drop of rain hitting my windshield would knock my car off the road.......if it makes you feel better, I see your comment as ridiculously naive.
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 7:56 am
by Loredoctor
It's not the first time a artificial object was made to strike the Moon. I say go for it.
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 3:11 pm
by hue of fuzzpaws
why are they not using the spent sections to create space stations instead?
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 4:11 pm
by dANdeLION
Maybe they don't meet present safety standards. Maybe it would cost more to make proper fittings for them to work that it costs to make new sections. Maybe they're too worn from previous use. In any event, I'm sure NASA considered that option and many more before deciding on how to use that stuff.
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 4:49 pm
by Avatar
Romeo wrote:...The moon is what we in the scientific community call "very, very big."
ROTFLMAO!!!!
--A
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 4:59 pm
by Cail
Wait......Wasn't this the premise for Space:1999?
Re: Nasa Fires a "Missle" into the Moon.
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 5:41 pm
by High Lord Tolkien
dANdeLION wrote:balon! wrote:God I hope this doesn't kill us all by knocking it off course.
Am I the only one who sees this as ridiculously stupid?
We're shooting the MOON with a rocket.
WTF!?
That rocket could no more knock the moon off course than a drop of rain hitting my windshield would knock my car off the road.......if it makes you feel better, I see your comment as ridiculously naive.
OMG.
Read the comments below the article.
It' a celebration in stupidity.
This is my favorite, his/her lack of scientific knowledge is scary:
"Isn't it easier to recycle all the water on a moonbase that was flown in from earth? Solar cells only work on the sunny side of the moon, you know. On the dark side of the moon one has to fly in many heavy electricity batteries, so what is the point?"
Re: Nasa Fires a "Missle" into the Moon.
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 6:58 pm
by dANdeLION
High Lord Tolkien wrote:
OMG.
Read the comments below the article.
It' a celebration in stupidity.
m1rv9n41v5 wrote:I don't think that those who plan it has no brain at all!
Uhh, I don't think NASA scientists are without brains, either.
Re: Nasa Fires a "Missle" into the Moon.
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 7:08 pm
by CovenantJr
High Lord Tolkien wrote:OMG.
Read the comments below the article.
It' a celebration in stupidity.
It's pretty funny (and pretty depressing) to see how many people think their scientific knowledge exceeds NASA's. I wanted to post a comment to the effect of "do you all really, honestly believe that people who think about this stuff for a living won't have considered the 'problem' your high school science education has spotted
I particularly loved "the moon might be hollow!"
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 8:17 pm
by wayfriend
Hey, the Japanese beat us to it and just bombed the moon. Well, they were trying to land but the end result is the same.
If we look on the ozone layer as a protective membrane from the suns rays then rockets can be seen as viruses that weaken and attack it from inside.
The moon is to be bombed because there is good evidence that an advanced civilization lives beneath the surface. The U.S. goal is to eliminate that civilization.
The photo database I have collected which comprise NASA pictures altered and defaced demonstrate absolutely that the Moon is peopled with humans and other races. It is much smaller than NASA alleges, much closer, much more fragile; hollow, barely covered with enough elements to protect its peoples. Bombing indiscriminately is a human rights crime; and somehow it doesn't surprise me that the USSA will bomb a place they APPARENTLY know nothing about, first hand. See my Facebook or Slide MOON Albums. There are people there.
its not americans blasting the moon its a pare of scientists,
stop blaming america you pease of shit
And the crem de la crem
Don't you think we should give the Moon a Break?
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 9:34 pm
by dANdeLION
Ev'rybody's talkin' 'bout
Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism
This-ism, that-ism, ism ism ism
All we are saying is give the Moon a Break
All we are saying is give the Moon a Break
Ev'rybody's talkin' 'bout
Minister, Sinister, Banisters and Canisters,
Bishops, Fishops, Rabbis, and Pop Eyes, Bye bye, Bye byes
All we are saying is give the Moon a Break
All we are saying is give the Moon a Break
(Let me tell you now)
Ev'rybody's talkin' 'bout
Revolution, Evolution, Masturbation, Flagellation, Regulation,
Integrations, mediations, United Nations, congratulations
All we are saying is give the Moon a Break
All we are saying is give the Moon a Break
Ev'rybody's talkin' 'bout
John and Yoko, Timmy Leary, Rosemary,
Tommy Smothers, Bobby Dylan, Tommy Cooper,
Derek Taylor, Norman Mailer, Alan Ginsberg, Hare Krishna
Hare Hare Krishna
All we are saying is give the Moon a Break
All we are saying is give the Moon a Break
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 10:23 pm
by CovenantJr
I'm also slightly depressed by how many of the commenters can't spell 'missile'.
Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 1:51 am
by High Lord Tolkien
Have we been duped? Is it an onion.com type site?
Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 2:30 am
by balon!
CovenantJr wrote:I'm also slightly depressed by how many of the commenters can't spell 'missile'.
....crap.
