Water on the moon
Yesterday, almost by accident I stumbled upon a news item on CNN announcing that an Indian probe launched last year to the Moon had discovered signs of water.
It’s the stuff of science fiction and yet the story (in my opinion) only rated a brief blip on the general public interest radar.
With NASA’s stated goal to return to the Moon the discovery of water could not have come at a better time.
It fuels the idea that living on the Moon may actually be possible one day soon, certainly more feasible than even envisaged just a few months earlier.
What are the next steps?
In less than 13 days the LCROSS (Lunar CRrater and Obervation Sensing Satelitte) will impact on the surface of the planet in an attempt to further confirm the presence or absence of water.
LCROSS is an amazing mission given that years of planning and execution will come down to just 4 mins of hard science before the satellite is lost - something you’ll be able to watch for yourself from Earth 30-100 seconds after it impacts!
As a young boy watching the telly I always thought that Moonbase Alpha looked like a cool place to visit – perhaps when I’m really old I may get to watch someone move in?
Posted: September 26th, 2009 under Pop Culture.
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