Cyprus-Forum.com

[Lit]

Water Found on Moon, Scientists Say

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/14/scien ... ml?_r=1&hp

There is water on the Moon, scientists stated unequivocally on Friday, and considerable amounts of it.

“Indeed yes, we found water,” Anthony Colaprete, the principal investigator for NASA’s Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, said in a news conference.

The confirmation of scientists’ suspicions is welcome news both to future explorers who might set up home on the lunar surface and to scientists who hope that the water, in the form of ice accumulated over billions of years, could hold a record of the solar system’s history.

The satellite, known as Lcross (pronounced L-cross), slammed into a crater near the Moon’s south pole a month ago. The impact carved out a hole 60 to 100 feet wide and kicked up at least 24 gallons of water.

“We got more than just whiff,” said Peter H. Schultz, a professor of geological sciences at Brown University and a co-investigator of the mission. “We practically tasted it with the impact.”

For more than a decade, planetary scientists have seen tantalizing hints of water ice at the bottom of these cold craters where the sun never shines. The Lcross mission consisted of two pieces — an empty rocket stage to carve into the lunar surface and a small spacecraft to measure what was kicked up, but it too slammed into the surface.

For space enthusiasts who stayed up, or woke up early, to watch the impact on Oct. 9, the event was anticlimactic, even disappointing, as they failed to see the anticipated debris plume. But NASA later said that a plume was indeed photographed; the live video stream was not properly attuned to pick out the details.

The water findings come from analysis of the slight shifts in color after the impact, showing telltale signs of water.

[CBBB]

Does this mean we can stop the water cuts in Cyprus?

[purdey]

No ! but if you look on Ebay in a year someone will be selling bottled moon water at £1000000 per bottle.

[Oracle]

Which begs the question: if there is so much water there; why did Armstrong and Aldrin "fail" to detect any when they "walked" (?) on the moon? We all know a few simple tests for the presence of water, don't we? Surely they didn't "forget" to check?


Water, water everywhere ....

[Talisker]

Very good news for Pot Noodle manufacturers.

[yialousa1971]

Which begs the question: if there is so much water there; why did Armstrong and Aldrin "fail" to detect any when they "walked" (?) on the moon? We all know a few simple tests for the presence of water, don't we? Surely they didn't "forget" to check?


Water, water everywhere ....

Are you saying they never went to the Moon?

[Jasonahed]

Which begs the question: if there is so much water there; why did Armstrong and Aldrin "fail" to detect any when they "walked" (?) on the moon? We all know a few simple tests for the presence of water, don't we? Surely they didn't "forget" to check?


Water, water everywhere ....

What makes you think that the space mission back then even took place? it was all staged don't forget, it was a desperate act by the yanks to show it was possible for them to get to the moon, its all a fake. Everybody knows that leaving the earths van allan belt would be suicide.

[fig head]

Which begs the question: if there is so much water there; why did Armstrong and Aldrin "fail" to detect any when they "walked" (?) on the moon? We all know a few simple tests for the presence of water, don't we? Surely they didn't "forget" to check?


Water, water everywhere ....

What makes you think that the space mission back then even took place? it was all staged don't forget, it was a desperate act by the yanks to show it was possible for them to get to the moon, its all a fake. Everybody knows that leaving the earths van allan belt would be suicide.

[fig head]

Which begs the question: if there is so much water there; why did Armstrong and Aldrin "fail" to detect any when they "walked" (?) on the moon? We all know a few simple tests for the presence of water, don't we? Surely they didn't "forget" to check?


Water, water everywhere ....

What makes you think that the space mission back then even took place? it was all staged don't forget, it was a desperate act by the yanks to show it was possible for them to get to the moon, its all a fake. Everybody knows that leaving the earths van allan belt would be suicide.

[Oracle]

Which begs the question: if there is so much water there; why did Armstrong and Aldrin "fail" to detect any when they "walked" (?) on the moon? We all know a few simple tests for the presence of water, don't we? Surely they didn't "forget" to check?


Water, water everywhere ....

What makes you think that the space mission back then even took place? it was all staged don't forget, it was a desperate act by the yanks to show it was possible for them to get to the moon, its all a fake. Everybody knows that leaving the earths van allan belt would be suicide.

Welcome on board Jasonahed.

Do you also believe the earth is flat?

Whilst I was merely parodying the typical sceptic of moon landings and Man's Giant Leap .... I admit they have been given ample ammunition with the recent claim of quite how much water there is on the moon.

How did they fail to detect it in the first place is my (genuine) scientific question. I really want to know if Physicists live in this sterile world without a clue about how to look for signs of/for life!

Having said that, whatever the barriers, I believe Man can overcome and van allen belts or "falling off the end of the earth" scares will not last for long!