NASA on moon mission, ready to attack with a rocket
The impact of rocket's attack is exactly designed to mimic that of the large, natural asteroids that slam into the moon many times in a month. The experiment belonging to the US space agency NASA is targeting a 100-km wide, 4-km deep crater.
IN AN ambitious experiment NASA scientists are ready to crash a rocket into the moon on Friday, October 9. The experiment is supposed to provide handy data about ice hidden in the perpetually dark craters of moon. The rocket will deliberately crash into the moon’s Caebus crater at 1130 GMT.
Meanwhile, astronomers around the world are prepared to capture the impact of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) into the moon's crater, which will kick up a plume of dust that scientists hope to analyse for traces of water that they believe are abundant in the cold, shadowy craters. Most importantly, despite the concerns of some naysayers in the blogosphere, the moon will not be harmed by the NASA probe. The total event - from impact until the dust settles - will last just 2 minutes, but scientists say the experiment will produce valuable information to be collected on nine instruments, including five cameras that capture images in colour, thermal and near-infrared images. In the meantime, images of the impact will be captured by the companion Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, a satellite now circling the moon, as well as the Hubble Space Telescope and terrestrial telescopes. The composition of the material kicked up by the impact will help scientists to find out whether water is present on moon or not.
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