illustration: NASA.
"The Mission Objectives of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) include confirming the presence or absence of water ice in a permanently shadowed crater at the Moon's South Pole. The identification of water is very important to the future of human activities on the Moon. LCROSS will excavate the permanently dark floor of one of the Moon's polar craters with two heavy impactors in 2009 to test the theory that ancient ice lies buried there. The impact will eject material from the crater's surface to create a plume that specialized instruments will be able to analyze for the presence of water (ice and vapor), hydrocarbons and hydrated materials."
"Excavate"? Are they joking?
If you have a 10-inch telescope or larger you'll actually be able to see the impact from Earth. The resulting damage from the impact of these spacecrafts (actually missiles) striking the surface at over 5,000 m.p.h. is expected to be spread over an area several miles wide. Is this a respectful way to go about learning things? Does this remind anybody of settlers' attitude toward and exploitation of "frontier lands"?
Disgusting. The moon-bombing is set to happen on Oct 9.
To read more agency-speak, click here.
Better yet, watch this awesome video. (thanks Hugo & Jordan!)
~pinky
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Posted by Kim: That's moon abuse. Scientists should follow some kind of ethical guidelines when they are designing experiments, like "Would you be okay doing this experiment to your own mommy?" If not, then probably you shouldn't be doing it!