Ion Rocket to Map Moon with X-Rays
jralls writes "The Guardian is reporting that a European ion-rocket has taken the last year to reach the moon and is about to enter lunar orbit. Once it slows and gets into a very low orbit, it will probe the surface with x-rays in an effort to solve the long standing puzzle of the moon's origin."
Hypothesis: mars is red. Send probe, take snaps. Yup it's red.
Hypothesis: maybe Mas has water. Send probe, probe gets rusty. Yup Mars has water.
So we learn a bunch of things about Mars, but what do they help? Most space exploration is just a form of "infotainment" with very little use to anyone. There are a gazzillion unexplored issues on planet earth that are surely more important for us to be investigating.
Engineering is the art of compromise.