Moon-Bombing Mission Finds Significant Amount of Water in Lunar Soil
Water in them there craters NASA's moon-smashing mission may not have provided a huge show for the folks on Earth, but now there's sweet vindication for scientists. The plume of lunar debris kicked up from ancient lunar crater kicked up 24 gallons of water, LCROSS mission staff reported today. The October 9th impact from the main LCROSS impactor sent one plume arcing high above the rim of the crater Cabeus, and ejected another curtain of debris more laterally. Scientists identified water's light-absorbing signature in the plume by examining data from the spacecraft's spectrometers. They ma have also spotted other "intriguing substances" that have lain dormant within the crater for billions of years. Related ArticlesInterview: NASA Scientist's Plan to Extract Moon Water Affordably Using MicrowavesNASA Releases Satellite Thermal Images of 'Moon Bombing' NASA Crashes Into the Moon -- But Where Are the Pics?TagsScience, Jeremy Hsu, craters, debris, ice, impact, impactor, LCROSS, lunar,...