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Topic: Nasa / Space

NASA reveals more mysteries of the moon (photos)

Summary: NASA spacecraft finds more evidence of water ice on the moon and also discovers many treasures including minerals, a natural bridge and abandoned spacecraft.

Andy Smith

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NASA unveiled new data Thursday from two spacecraft it sent into lunar orbit , the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The LCROSS satellite purposely crashed into the lunar surface last year (gallery) and analysis showed that the resulting plume contained water ice crystals. Although the existance of water on the moon was announced last year, new details on the findings are being revealed in six papers published in Science. Plus, the LRO has also been taking pictures and examining the moon's surface for more hidden treasures.

Above is where the nose cone of a rocket and the LCROSS probe crashed into the lunar surface (x). Measured is the amount of ejecta material in sunlight, in kilograms per square meter, derived from visible light measurements from the Diviner Lunar Radiometer about 90 seconds after impact.

Credit: NASA. Click on any image to enlarge.

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Topic: Nasa / Space

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25 comments
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  • RE: NASA reveals more mysteries of the moon (photos)

    Yawn
    no_axe_to__grind
    Reply Vote

    • RE: NASA reveals more mysteries of the moon (photos)

      ... then go somewhere else and leave these photos to those of us that appreciate them.
      hoohah
      Reply Vote

      • RE: NASA reveals more mysteries of the moon (photos)

        @hoohah

        Indeed. And that's not the real No_Ax_To_Grind either.
        Hallowed are the Ori
        Reply Vote

  • $400,000 to transport 1 gallon...

    or could we sneak a couple up there at that price? Instead of transferring water 1 gallon at a time, we should really consider doing it in more bulk... I think it's cheaper that way. I should totally work for NASA!!
    ed.sealing
    Reply Vote

    • RE: NASA reveals more mysteries of the moon (photos)

      @ed.sealing

      And the punch line is?
      txakura@...
      Reply Vote

      • RE: NASA reveals more mysteries of the moon (photos)

        @txakura@...

        Right between his eyes?
        Hallowed are the Ori
        Reply Vote

    • RE: NASA reveals more mysteries of the moon (photos)

      @ed.sealing I wonder if that's a "for the first gallon" price, with a discount on additional gallons.
      I would hope so, anyway...
      unclefixer@...
      Reply Vote

    • RE: NASA reveals more mysteries of the moon (photos)

      @ed.sealing
      Nobody said NASA brings water up 1 gallon at a time. 400k is just the cost of bringing the equivalent of 1 gallon of water due to its weight. Given the number of vessels we have put in space in the last 50 years, that's probably as cheap as it'll get for now...
      zapper_z
      Reply Vote

  • Super good news for me

    I have a science fiction/cozy mystery novel Dark Side of the Moon (MuseItUp Publishing) coming out in February which takes place in a colony on the moon. One of the essential elements for the survival of the colony would be water on the moon. It's nice when NASA cooperates to confirm your theory.
    webservant2003@...
    Reply Vote

    • RE: NASA reveals more mysteries of the moon (photos)

      @webservant2003@...
      chuckle......
      Nice when they cooperate I agree...
      rhonin
      Reply Vote

  • RE: NASA reveals more mysteries of the moon (photos)

    Excellent- & great pics too!
    unclefixer@...
    Reply Vote

  • Water

    Some commenters seem to think the water cost is a "buy in bulk" problem and have ignored the inherint weight problem. It's not like Deer Park is charging NASA $400K for space water.

    I am intrigued about how we harvest the water. Being frozen, I imagine it would consist of "scraping" the surface with large equipment like that giant trencher in Europe. Or maybe build a mobile system that creeps around and harvests like on Arrakis.
    ScotlynHatt
    Reply Vote

  • RE: NASA reveals more mysteries of the moon (photos)

    380 Celsius is 716 Fahrenheit not 1300
    adastra_2001@...
    Reply Vote

    • RE: NASA reveals more mysteries of the moon (photos)

      You are correct.
      andy.smith@...
      Reply Vote

  • RE: NASA reveals more mysteries of the moon (photos)

    Hasn't it been said in answer to calls from those that believe the moon landings didn't happen that it would not be possible to show the Apollo mission landing locations by earth bound telescopes? So how does the telescope at Mt.Palomar get to achieve quite good views of the LCROSS crash landing location? There is one such image in the collection in this article.
    Ba55
    Reply Vote

    • RE: NASA reveals more mysteries of the moon (photos)

      @Ba55 that image you refer to is very low resolution and if there were a lander in an image of that quality it would be indescernible from the background. besides, there are lro images that show Apollo lander sites
      pitdroidtech
      Reply Vote

    • We went to the moon, and most of the theories...

      @Ba55... that skeptics put out there were tested on Mythbusters.

      Besides the Apollo landing missions left mirrors on the surface of the moon, so that we can bounce laser beams off the surface, which was also visited by the Mythbusters.

      Anyone who says we still haven't gone to the moon isn't wearing enough tin foil. Tell them to wrap a couple more layers on to finish cooking the rest of their brain.
      Snooki_smoosh_smoosh
      Reply Vote

    • RE: NASA reveals more mysteries of the moon (photos)

      @Ba55 The "quite good" view there is showing details down to 50 meters or so - quite a bit larger than the landing stage, eh?
      zclayton2
      Reply Vote

  • RE: NASA reveals more mysteries of the moon (photos)

    NASA should consider using a high end missile system to bore deeper into the moon (and mars). This will solve the problem of what to use to drill deeper and it will effectively show us what else there is on the moon and other planets.
    Allan_Persad
    Reply Vote

  • If only Photoshop was a reality.....

    To all 'moonlanders': Of course, it is IMPOSSIBLE by now to FAKE a pebble on these photos, right? I mean, Photoshop even Armstrong's driver's license, toothbrush, or dentures. Right?
    debalazo
    Reply Vote
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