The target crater is Kabauus A. This target was chosen after extensive exploration of locations that may contain frozen water at the south pole of the Moon.
NASA's Crater Observation Satellite (LCROSS) is on its way to a double collision with the Moon at 7:30 am EST on October 9 (14:30 pm Israel time). NASA has announced exactly where the collision will be.
The target crater is Kabauus A. This target was chosen after extensive exploration of locations that may contain frozen water at the south pole of the Moon.
"The selection of Caboose A was the result of vigorous debate in the lunar research community. We looked at the latest information from ground-based observatories as well as from the X-ray satellite Chandra-1 and the Lunar Reconnaissance Satellite,” says Antony Collapart, LCROSS project scientist. "The team is looking forward to the abundance of information that will be obtained from this unique mission."
LCROSS will search for ice by launching a rocket into the crater Qabaus A, where water may be in a state of ice accretion. The satellite will dive into the dust cloud that will fly into space as a result of the impact, and analyze the characteristics of the cloud before it collides with the lunar surface.
The team of scientists behind the experiment chose Caboose A based on a series of conditions, including lighting on the cloud that would match the scientists' vantage point on the Earth. Cabose A also has a high concentration of hydrogen (a derivative of the water molecule H2O). Another reason for choosing the crater lies in the fact that this area is relatively flat and free of rocks.
Expert astronomers will use the most advanced star observatories on NASA to monitor the collisions. Among the observatories will be the Kak Telescope in Hawaii, the Magdalena Rigda and Apache Rigda observatories in New Mexico and the Multi-Metal Telescope (MMT) in Arizona, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Lunar Reconnaissance Satellite, and more.
Amateur astronomers will also be able to monitor the collision.
There are instructions and tips for amateurs That link.
"Telescopes that will participate in the LCROSS project will provide observations from different perspectives and with the help of different measurement techniques," says Jennifer Haldeman, a project researcher from NASA's Ames Center. "These multiple observations will complement the information of the LCROSS spacecraft and help determine whether or not ice exists in Caboose A."
During media coverage, Daniel Andrews, LCROSS project manager at Ames Center, provided a status update on the mission: The spacecraft is safe and sound and has enough fuel to accomplish all of its missions. Andrews also announced that the mission is dedicated to the memory of the legendary news broadcaster, Walter Cronkite, who provided full coverage of the American space programs from its early days.
"Dad would have been proud to be a part of the project, even if only in name," says Chip Cronkite, son of the famous newscaster.
16 תגובות
to my father,
I'm not sure your last sentence is necessarily true. NASA then tested with very primitive methods whether or not there is life on the moon. They checked on a very unique site and in a very superficial way. They did not dig deep and did not work in places where there is water. I would not be decisive in stating that there is no life on the moon. In fact, I would be very surprised if they found water there, substances that allow oxidation and reduction, light, and at the same time did not find life. Maybe there is no life there - but that needs to be checked.
It's going to be very, very interesting if they find water there. I'm going to be very excited if I do.
Greetings friends,
Ami Bachar
Thank you, Father, for your patience.
What I meant to say is that things need to be put in the right perspective here.
Manning the moon (even if it is a research station) serves no scientific purpose
real or existential human need which can be achieved in ways
Others are a little less luxurious and extravagant.
For example, if China's space agency announces that it will send the first crew
to land on the moon in 2018 without cooperation with another country, after all NASA
Change her whole plan accordingly, just to show the world who's in charge...
Regarding the search for life on other planets or moons, there are similar interests.
Instead of searching and scientifically defining what life is (perhaps life at all requires a nervous system that processes electrical voltages?) and instead of automatically linking
Living in water or oxygen, sending "fireworks" in the form of various spaceships to all
Transcend the solar system in order to search for what they actually failed to find here on earth
Earth…..
Bottom line, it looks puzzling to say the least and not very mature.
to shimi
In every average quarry on Earth, including in Israel, every second the amount of dirt that flies from the crater on the moon is removed. A bit of proportion. When they establish a colony, they will not bombard the moon, but will bring bulldozers and do every meter they capture damage 100 times greater than the damage caused by the impact. This reminds me of Lish's website otherwise I read that NASA is planning to blow a large chunk from the moon whose absence will be visible from Earth.
For the questionnaire - it's not all or nothing, we need to find out if there is water that will be used by the first colony to be established in order to save their flight from Earth, the search for life is also important, but NASA did this and found the answer to be negative (at first they weren't sure, the Apollo astronauts 11 were in isolation for 21 days).
And again in the name of science, we destroyed the earth, come on moon!!!
What happens to people? Decades ago no one reached the moon, what's good
We have just arrived and begin to bombard, raze, destroy, destroy and pollute every good piece of land that modern man has set foot on.
But hey!!! It's in the name of science, and someone will pay for his mouth!!!
And in the matter of a settlement on the moon. American culture is childish,
Incredibly innocent and silly, so why isn't there some adult here who can
explain it to them?
Why does NASA crash spaceships while the sky is not life itself
But only one of the environments in which life can develop?
Doesn't it make more sense to look for the source than to go in circles?
Besides, so what if they find a fossilized mosquito, then they'll discover the
The "cornerstone" of life?
The presence of ice does not mean the possibility of life, the probability of this is quite zero. The possibility of a human settlement using the frozen water depends on the amount in the ice, its availability for mining, and the effort required for such mining.
Oh, right after the cloud flies into space, the spacecraft will dive into it. She will quickly take samples, send the analysis to DHA and then she will crash herself into the moon - so the process will be fast.
Second, I assume that they chose the Kabaus A crater located in the South Pole because there is an area there that is not exposed to the sun at all, but in the press release they wrote that the lighting conditions should be specific, so it is difficult to know what the plan is.
I meant the cloud of dust that will fly into space as a result of the impact and be exposed to sunlight, isn't every slight heating supposed to cause the ice to turn into gas as happens in comets that approach the sun?
But why would there be sublimation, the thermodynamic conditions (pressure, volume) change on the surface of the moon apart from the change in temperature?
Arnon,
There are craters that are not exposed to sunlight and ice can accumulate there close to the ground.
http://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%94%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%97#.D7.94.D7.99.D7.9E.D7.A6.D7.90.D7.95.D7.AA_.D7.9E.D7.99.D7.9D
Yael,
Suppose there is ice, won't it sublimate as soon as it is exposed to sunlight?
not derived Maybe integral.
Yes, hydrogen is a derivative of water, or water is a derivative of hydrogen.
Water consists of two hydrogen atoms (H) and an oxygen atom (O)
Maybe the choice of words here is not the most ideal.
Hydrogen (a derivative of the water molecule H2O)?
Either way, if there is water there I believe there is land-like life. Maybe a little deeper, in a place where the temps can be less cold, but still - there is a situation. Moreover, if there is water, it means that there is a situation to start colonizing the moon and use the little water that is on it