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Bombing the Moon for Water
s20451 writes "In 1998, NASA scientists deliberately crashed the Lunar Prospector into the Moon, in a
failed attempt to detect traces of water allegedly hiding in deep craters at the lunar south pole.
Now the BBC is reporting a new proposal to attack the lunar poles with "Bunker Buster" missiles to liberate a detectable amount of water. Called Polar Night, the mission is being proposed as part of the "Discovery" series of probes."
More like fuel. Hydrogen and Oxygen. Guess what the shuttle engines run off of?
If we discovered water in any signifigant quantity on the moon, it would (someday) make getting there and back much cheaper and easier. Instead of packing the gas with us, we can stop at the ol' lunar gas station. It is so hellaciously expensive to put things in orbit, every pound saved is a penny earned.
It could also make construction of spacecraft on the moon or in orbit a possibility. Again, the less we have to bring up with us, the better.
Regards,
Meri
Moon does'nt have oxygen. Therefore this bomb will need to have its own oxygen system.
Umm, the vast majority of conventional munitions have their own oxidizing agent, with very few exceptions( such as the fuel-air bomb ).
If a substance's oxidation rate is dependent on its contact with atmospheric oxygen, it would be far more likely to "burn" than "explode".
The dust(?) created from this bomb will linger far longer than earth because of moon's gravity.
Another problem with your reasoning. The specific reason that dust "lingers" on earth is buoyant forces BY THE AIR upon very small dust particles. the moon's gravity well is smaller than that of the Earth, but the fact that F=ma will prevail without impedance by an atmosphere will make the "dust" settle rather quickly.