Do you think finding water on the moon is significant?
NASA said Friday it had discovered water on the moon, opening "a new chapter" that could allow for the development of a lunar space station.
The discovery was announced by project scientist Anthony Colaprete at a midday news conference. "I'm here today to tell you that indeed, yes, we found water. And we didn't find just a little bit; we found a significant amount" -- about a dozen, two-gallon bucketfuls, he said, holding up several white plastic containers.
The find is based on preliminary data collected when the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, intentionally crashed October 9 into the permanently shadowed region of Cabeus crater near the moon's south pole. After the satellite struck, a rocket flew through the debris cloud, measuring the amount of water and providing a host of other data, Colaprete said.
"If the water that was formed or deposited is billions of years old, these polar cold traps could hold a key to the history and evolution of the solar system, much as an ice core sample taken on Earth reveals ancient data," NASA said in its statement. "In addition, water and other compounds represent potential resources that could sustain future lunar exploration."
My question to you: Do you think finding water on the moon is significant? Is the research really worth hundreds of millions of our tax dollars?
full cnn article
The discovery was announced by project scientist Anthony Colaprete at a midday news conference. "I'm here today to tell you that indeed, yes, we found water. And we didn't find just a little bit; we found a significant amount" -- about a dozen, two-gallon bucketfuls, he said, holding up several white plastic containers.
The find is based on preliminary data collected when the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, intentionally crashed October 9 into the permanently shadowed region of Cabeus crater near the moon's south pole. After the satellite struck, a rocket flew through the debris cloud, measuring the amount of water and providing a host of other data, Colaprete said.
"If the water that was formed or deposited is billions of years old, these polar cold traps could hold a key to the history and evolution of the solar system, much as an ice core sample taken on Earth reveals ancient data," NASA said in its statement. "In addition, water and other compounds represent potential resources that could sustain future lunar exploration."
My question to you: Do you think finding water on the moon is significant? Is the research really worth hundreds of millions of our tax dollars?
full cnn article
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Rachel Anne on -
I don't know about hundreds and millions of our tax dollars... but it certainly needs to be investigated more!
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Permalink Reply by Mark Huckabee on -
It is one of the most significant finds ever. This will allow us to establish colonies on the moon who can use the water to drink, to process into oxygen to breath, and to prepare fuel that will be loaded onto rockets that will explore the rest of our solar system. This is HUGE. Having water available on the moon means we don't have to lift it out of earth's gravity well which is extremely expensive.
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Permalink Reply by Anthony Kie Murray II on -
i agree, i did the happy dance when i heard of the success! Nasa/JPL is L33T.
hehe.
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Permalink Reply by Dear Professor on
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It is worth every dime.
The discovery of water changes everything. No water on the Moon means that the Moon is only good for military bases, and would be extremely expensive to maintain.
Water on the moon means that real scientific and exploratory bases can be set up and can contribute to their own survival. Water on the Moon provides water, oxygen, and hydrogen. These are three critical ingredients needed for future space exploration.
The future of space exploration just got much more affordable.
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