Shoot the Moon: NASA Plans Lunar Dust-Up

Used-up Spacecraft Will Slam into Moon to See If Any Water or Ice Sprays Up

(CBS/AP)  NASA will throw a one-two punch at the big old moon Friday and the whole world will have ringside seats for the lunar dust-up.

NASA will send a used-up spacecraft slamming into the moon's south pole to kick up a massive plume of lunar dirt and then scour it to see if there's any water or ice spraying up. The idea is to confirm the theory that water - a key resource if people are going to go back to the moon - is hidden below the barren moonscape.

Watch NASA TV to see the crash-landing attempt at 7:31 a.m. EDT.

The crashing spaceship was launched in June along with an orbiter that's now mapping the lunar surface. LCROSS - short for Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite and pronounced L-Cross - is on a collision course with the moon, attached to an empty 2.2-ton rocket that helped get the probe off the ground.

Thursday evening, about 10 hours before smashing into the moon, LCROSS and its empty rocket will separate.

Where and how to view the impact

Then comes the first part of the lunar assault. At 7:31 a.m. EDT, the larger empty rocket will crash into a permanently dark crater and kick up a 6.2 mile high spray of debris.

"This is a case where you are going to take what amounts to an SUV and crash it into the surface at two or three times the speed of a rifle bullet," said CBS News space analyst Bill Harwood.

Trailing just behind that rocket is the LCROSS satellite itself, beaming back to Earth live pictures of the impact and the debris plume using color cameras. It will scour for ice, fly through the debris cloud and then just four minutes later take the fatal plunge itself, triggering a dust storm one-third the size of the first hit.

"This is going to be pretty cool," LCROSS project manager Dan Andrews told The Associated Press. "We'll be going right down into it. Seeing the moon come up at you is pretty spectacular."

Within an hour, scientists will know whether water was hiding there or not.

The mission is a set-the-stage venture dreamed up by the NASA office that has been working on a $100 billion program to eventually return astronauts to the moon. The return-to-the-moon goal is now being re-examined by NASA and the White House.

These are not crashes for the faint of heart. The two ships will smash into the moon at 5,600 mph, more than seven times the speed of sound. The explosion will have the force of 1.5 tons of TNT and throw 772,000 pounds of lunar dirt out of the crater. It will create a new crater - inside an old one - about half the size of an Olympic swimming pool, Andrews said.

But don't feel bad for the moon. It gets crashes this size about four times a month from space rocks. But the difference is this one is planned and at just the right angle and location to provide interesting science for astronomers. The southern polar region is a prime landing possibility. This crater, called Cabeus, is one where astronomers think there is a good chance of hidden ice that would be freed by the crash, describing the dirt there as "fluffy."

The crashes will also be a good show for the folks back home, which was always part of NASA's plan for the probe, Andrews said. The crashes will be broadcast live on NASA's Web site. The Hubble Space Telescope and other larger Earth telescopes will be trained at the moon. Observatories and museums are planning viewing parties in at least three countries.

It's the kind of mission - with a dramatic crash on a lunar landscape - that has kids and adults alike dreaming once again about the moon, reports CBS News correspondent Don Teague.

"I'd like to stand on the moon," said nine-year-old Anna Grace.

"I just want to watch," said amateur astronaut Linda Eaton. "I just want to see it happen. I want to see if we can see any of the plumes."

And amateur astronomy buffs with telescopes who live west of the Mississippi may try to catch a glimpse of it through their own instruments because it will still be dark outside. People who live in areas where it will be daylight won't be able to see it from home telescopes.

"A lot of telescopes will be tuning in," said Terry Mann, president of the Astronomical League, an umbrella group for local amateur astronomy societies. "You might see something you might not ever see again."

Amateurs need at least a 10-inch telescope to look at the crashes and what they see will only be a small part of their overall view in the scope. And they won't see the impact itself, but the spray of debris flying up.

This is all happening during a peak week in a yearlong celebrations commemorating the 400th anniversary of Galileo using a telescope to see Jupiter's moons. On Wednesday evening, the White House planned a star party for middle schoolers and about two dozen telescopes.

In Boulder, Colo., the Fiske Planetarium on Friday will serve free bagels and coffee to early rising moon crash spectators. The planetarium plans to stream a live video feed from NASA, train its own 24-inch telescope to watch the crash, and let people look for themselves through two research-grade telescopes.

"People like explosions one way or another," said Matt Benjamin, the planetarium's education programs manager. "And a celestial explosion is going to excite them."

[phoolish1]

all right- i stayed up and watched nasa's coverage. all i can really say about it: in space, no one can hear you yawn.

[stuart-johns2]

What a bunch of ignorant posts from the far right as usual! NONE of you read the article evidently.

It does'nt matter. You are not worth my time. But I'll say that you guys sat and cheered as Bush stood on that Naval ship declaring "Mission Accomplished" after he bombed the hell out of Iraq and killed thousands of civilians with his little illegal war.

But this bothers you? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! What dumb fools.

[rf35]

The willful ignorance displayed by some of the people posting here is astonishing. America's education has truly failed us if these people really think there is the slightest chance that this will have any effect on Earth beyond the increase in human knowledge. I am willing to admit that it seems a bit of an extreme way to check for water, though.
BTW, while I am an agnostic, I'll say this to the "don't mess with God's creation" people: maybe if He didn't want us to know if there was water ice on the moon, He wouldn't have let us build rockets that could go there!

[nokia3210c]

NOW WHAZ UP AMERICA!! CRASSHING A MULTY-MILLION-DOLLAR NASA PROB ONTO THE SURFACE OF THE MOON, OH DEAR GOD. PLIZ, TELL ME AMERICANS HAVE NOT FOUND ANY AL-QAEDA, TALIBAN, ABUSAYYAF, HAMMAS, MULLAHS, A PAKISTAN BASED, OR TO PUT IT IN ONE WORD - MUSLIMS TERRORISTS UP THERE!!!!!!!??????

[ironshin]

I wonder if somthing that cannot be predicted happened and cause promblems.Maybe it'll bring us disaster.We're not sure,right?

[Earynose]

I see no legitimate reason to blast the moon like this. What's wrong with creation as it is? I don't think we were meant to live on the moon, especially since it doesn't have what we need. Even if there is water on the moon, it takes more than water to live. People have figured that out already haven't they??

How does NASA know if it's going to be one blast too many? Are they trying to blow the moon completely up some day? If nature does it, that's one thing. Why not leave the solar system alone? I doubt man will ever be able to live on the moon. I wouldn't recommend investigating the sun for this either-or somebody may get a wild idea to try to mess with that, too. Leave God's creation alone-don't try to change it. God said it was good a long time ago. And to any atheists out there, in other words, this might be like the child pulling the handle of a hot pan off the stove.

[randomlybanned]

Are all the other countries in the world okay with this moon bombing mission? Just wondering cause last time I checked the U.S. doesn't own the Moon!

[Earynose]

Who says ANY countries need to agree? It's doing just fine where it is, how it is. Maybe we should just leave it alone, outside of a short, rare occasional visit, without messing it up.

[erasmus111]

by displeased October 8, 2009 3:43 PM EDT
So why do we need more clean usable water hear on earth?


You mean the U.S.? Because you have jet fuel and nuclear waste in your water. : )

[Sciencehasoverstepped]

Darn Right!! We need to clean ours up.. what do we need moon water for?? thats just stupid. If you think I'm putting on a "Pretty little space suit so that i can move there". You're Damn wrong!!

[wdh3007]

The question of whether their is water on the moon should have been answered around forty years ago in 1969 when Armstrong first landed on the moon. "One small step for man one giant leap for mankind."

[Sciencehasoverstepped]

I agree with you also wdh3007. or was that a "Hoax"" ooh yes I said it.. Hoax.. well somewhere in New Mexico... There is a Hoax.. LOL!!

[GODSWILL88]

Hi I really dont know much about NASA and the process in what they are trying to do. i just fell that if God wanted another whole in the moon he would have put it there and if he want man to know if it was water on the moon he would show it. It seems to me like they are tryin to recreate the way the earth rotates because thats whats Going to happen if the vibration shakes the earth. COMPLETE DISATER :(.

[crowtrob]

ummm, wow, just wow. we really need to increase science and math education in this country. first off, its only $79 mil, that's less than $0.50 per tax payer. so quit wingeing. second, the size and mass of the rocket versus the size and mass of the moon is, wait for it, astronomical. fro the uneducated, movie loving crowd out there, i'll quote "armageddon", when the snooty nasa scientists reacts to the general saying "why not soot all our nukes" at the asteroid (which was 10,000's of times smaller than the moon), the scientist said "it would be like shooting a b-b gun at a freight train." there is no way in he11 that this would have any affect upon the lunar orbit or the tides on earth.

open a book people.

oh,god has nothing to do with science.

[Earynose]

Psalm 148:4 speaks of waters above the heavens. Maybe that would include the moon as well? Even so, who cares if the moon's got water? God already said there's water up there--somewhere, though it may be frozen.

[Sciencehasoverstepped]

I think this is an udderly stupid use of money,tax money or other. Many things need to be considered. Well, when the moon supposedly (has these types of events in nature).. meaning meteors hitting it from time to time.. ?? this is one thing not thought about.. Do they contain Dinamite?? Duuu.. thats what we thought.. the answer would be.. NO!!.Well ours will. I also agree with GODSWILL88. If we were supposed to know, we would have been born knowing there was water there. Sounds to me like a plan to distroy the earth and the planet. Well are we trying to cause the 2012 theory to happen??? I hate the way Scientists Practice the "Trial and Error Theory" There are millions of people guys, not just you!!! Think!!! DUH!!!

[scubbasteve01]

LCROSS? L-Bust? So you Stupid NASA people are spending money to crash a satellite into the moon to see if there's water? Ahhh, who cares? A $79 million dollar bomb to find Water Ice? Why can't you just go to Rita's?
What flavors are they looking for? Does string cheese or regular cheese on the moon have anything to do with this new stupid mission? The idiot space shuttle program is now ending why waste $ 79 million dollars?
This is money that should be spent to help us get ahead in space and not slack off. WHAT A JOKE.
Will there be a pizza delivery man waiting to get his order paid for? Say! Is that my Philly Cheese Steak?
Can I get some cheese fries please?

[displeased]

Oh, I see...this is the only purpose of this satellite. The knowledge is important but this method does seem inefficient.

[briannorwood]

All I have to say, is that if they break it, they bought it!

[stuart-johns2]

LMAO!

[sightpoint]

This makes an outstanding offensive weapon once we determine "real world" mass to velocity impact ratios and turn it around towards Earth. We can begin dropping cheap impactors on Afghanistan without the radiation but with all the punch! Woops, am I allowed to say that?

[inketolstoy]

Relax sightpoint, every one knows that in Washington, classified just means you identify yourself as an undiscosed source when blabbing. But you might want to have someone you don't like start your car for the next week or so.

[legacyabq]

Gee, I hopethe moon doesn't deflate..

[inketolstoy]

What about all the moon men we might kill?

[legacyabq]

Yeah!! Save the moonmen!!

[Turbidite]

As a professional earth scientist of more than 45 years experience , I find this probe consistent with the video game fanatics that seem to populate NASA. Let's blow something up on the moon, but first we have to think up something to make the public think we are doing science. WE NEED MORE CLEAN, USABLE WATER HERE, ON OUR PLANET, NOT ON THE MOON. GET IT?

[displeased]

Perhaps they're finding a use for an obsolete satellite? I would think with your profession you'd be more understanding. But your response certainly doesn't seem very professional.

So why do we need more clean usable water hear on earth? Perhaps we should stop having so many freakin babies!

[stuart-johns2]

I wish we could send all the republican extremist trolls to the moon...ONE WAY!

[ibsteve2u]

It would be ironic, if NASA picked the one place on the surface of the moon that would cause an "anomaly", don't you think?

lollll....well, I think I'll go play the lottery; that's another long shot.

[chonder2]

I think NASA is afraid of a budget cut to unjustifiable projects.I figured Mars would be in the cross hairs.Knowing from a while back that they could make hydrogen fuel from water and transporting fuel was a huge problem for long distances and escaping gravity into a planets orbit it stands to reason...water on the moon drama!

[stuart-johns2]

Wonderful. Can't wait to see how this all plays out. I wonder what NASA's budget is each year. Is this really affordable and even neccessary at this time?

[displeased]

Research helps the economy and we gain knowledge from it. It's better than spending our money destroying and then rebuilding other countries.

[ibsteve2u]

Well, better than destroying other nations and then watching a bunch of money that was SUPPOSED to rebuild them disappear, anyway.

[Wolf1944]

NASA's budge is about 18 billion this year, less than a penny out of your tax dollar. And from that we get the space station, weather satellites, communications satellites, GPS ... a lot of stuff.

[stn_sage]

I see a couple trolls claim that this is going to result in knowledge!

Knowledge?! Of what? You could do the same "experiment" on the Earth, accounting for atmosphere, surface density, payload, etcetera and save a PILE of money! You don't ruin a functional satellite for this!

So, what's this REALLY about? It wouldn't be about blowing something up that the government/Nasa/NSA doesn't want the public to know is there, is it?!

[1notrub11]

stn_stage, I am not sure which is worse. Trolling that this activity might contribute to knowledge or espousing a conspiracy theory.

[stuart-johns2]

Thank you Wolf and displeased and ibsteve2u. I am aware of the research benefits and it's certainly better than attacking other nations needlessly like the republican extremists do.