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Thursday, October 08, 2009

"SPACE: NASA prepares to bomb the moon"

Watch NASA blow a hole in the moon, kicking up a mile high plume, early tomorrow morning (Friday 4:30 a.m. PT).


A Web site will stream live telescope images of the impact of a NASA lunar probe scheduled to hit the surface on Friday (Oct. 9). NASA's search for water on the moon will be carried by a site that provides live telescope feeds. NASA's Lunar Crater Observing and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) is scheduled to hit the moon's south pole around 7:30 a.m. eastern on Friday. LCROSS is expected to kick up a mile-high plume of "ejecta". Viewers will be able to watch the impact and the subsequent flight of NASA's probe through the plume to collect ejecta for analysis. NASA hopes to find liquid water in the deep shade of the 60-mile-wide, mile-deep Cabeus crater. If frozen water is found, NASA hopes to establish a Moon base nearby using the water to drink as well as using electrolysis to split the water into hydrogen for fuel and oxygen. Video feeds will start one hour prior to the impact at 6:30 a.m. eastern on Friday at http://Slooh.com or htp://www.nasa.gov/ntv
Text: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=220301715