View Single Post
curiousuburb
Antimatter Man
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: that interweb thing
 
2009-11-13, 13:44

LCROSS reports 'buckets' of water on the Moon

Quote:
Originally Posted by BBC
Nasa's experiment last month to find water on the Moon was a major success, US scientists have announced.

The agency smashed a rocket and probe into a large crater at the lunar south pole, hoping to kick up ice.

Scientists who have studied the data now say instruments trained on the impact plume saw copious quantities of water vapour.

One researcher described this as the equivalent of "a dozen two-gallon buckets" of water.

... continues here ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by NASA

The visible camera image showing the ejecta plume at about 20 seconds after impact. ~ Credit: NASA
The argument that the moon is a dry, desolate place no longer holds water.

Secrets the moon has been holding, for perhaps billions of years, are now being revealed to the delight of scientists and space enthusiasts alike.

NASA today opened a new chapter in our understanding of the moon. Preliminary data from the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, indicates that the mission successfully uncovered water during the Oct. 9, 2009 impacts into the permanently shadowed region of Cabeus cater near the moon’s south pole.

The impact created by the LCROSS Centaur upper stage rocket created a two-part plume of material from the bottom of the crater. The first part was a high angle plume of vapor and fine dust and the second a lower angle ejecta curtain of heavier material. This material has not seen sunlight in billions of years.

... continues here ...
1.6 km ejecta plume... but they're still stuck on Gallons instead of metric?
  quote