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April 12, 2006
Call Me Romantic But Let's Not Bomb The Moon
By: Rowan Wolf
The word is out NASA to Crash Probe Into Moon in Search of Water. The plan is to launch a reconnaissance vehicle and "probe" in 2008 and "crash" the probe at over 5.600 mph into the moon. It is anticipated that debris will be thrown 40 miles above the moon. The reconnaissance vehicle will then monitor the plume for signs of water.
I'm sorry, this just does not seem like a good idea to me. Bombing the moon seems pretty risky to me. For example, how large of an explosion would it take to shift the axis or rotation of the moon? Since the "probe" is aimed at the pole, is it more likely to have an orbital impact? What would an orbital change of the moon mean to earth? I'm an neither an astrophysicist nor a bombing expert, but I do know that the moon effects earths tides. Wouldn't a variation of the moons orbit change the pull on earth?
Purportedly, the goal of the "experiment" is that if there is water (or the components thereof) on the moon, then setting up a human installation there is simplified.
Is this a "new" idea, or is it one of those "let's pull this off the dusty wish list?" You see, back in the 1950s, the Air Force wanted to detonate a nuclear weapon on the moon. The purpose of this plan? Just to see what would happen.
Posted by Rowan at April 12, 2006 9:19 AM Category: Environment