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Bombing the Moon for Water

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the make-go-boom dept.

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."

1 of 517 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Hey! by meridian-gh · · Score: 5, Informative
    Life?

    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