Slanted Science

Get ready, space fans, for what should be an amazing display early on Friday morning (7.30am, US Eastern Time). NASA – in a bid to answer the old question of whether the moon contains any water – will be piledriving a rocket into the lunar surface.

The intention is that the impact will throw up a huge cloud of moon debris, the composition of which the NASA geeks will be able to analyze using earthbound equipment.

They’re hoping to find traces of water, something which would benefit the push to develop long-term lunar bases, and which could also provide a source of fuel (hydrogen and oxygen) that would allow for deeper space exploration.

I’m wondering whether they couldn’t just send up a guy with a shovel to have a dig around, but I guess the NASA way is much more flashy than that.

Here’s what’s scheduled to happen: the LCROSS spacecraft (Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite) will fling one of its empty rockets at the moon. Specifically, at a crater named Cabeus. Weighing 2 tons, it’s anticipated that the rocket’s impact will generate a large enough dust cloud to allow analysis.

It’s all very exciting, and the only shame is that it’s not me at the controls of this, the world’s best ever video game.

On Friday morning, follow the action live at www.nasa.gov/ntv. In the meantime, visit NASA’s LCROSS website: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LCROSS/main/index.html

Don’t Hold Your Breath, But This May Lead To: a manned moonbase and a lunar staging post for extended trips out into deeper space (the moonwater could be converted into fuel – hydrogen/oxygen - and something for the guys to breathe while they’re out there – oxygen).