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NASA's LCROSS Moon Impact Mission Provides Great Data

Several sources are sending us reports of NASA's recent LCROSS Moon impact mission. While the visual results seem to be less than stunning, LCROSS Principal Investigator Anthony Colaprete said the initial results produced "the data we need," but refused to say anything about "water or no water." "The goal of this dual impact was to have the Centaur upper stage impact first, allowing the LCROSS spacecraft to observe close-up the results of the impact. In fairness, the view from LCROSS as it approached the moon was amazing — even though there was no obvious visual evidence of impact, which early data from the infrared camera on the craft indicates did occur. What happens next is a whole lot of math and science. The LCROSS spacecraft included nine individual science instruments. This suite of instruments consisted of one visible camera, two near-infrared cameras, two mid-infrared cameras, a visible light spectrometer, two near-infrared spectrometers, and a photometer. All nine of those instruments were gathering data simultaneously and streaming that data back to Earth."

21 of 91 comments (clear)

  1. Provides great data? by Kemanorel · · Score: 4, Funny

    For great justice!

    --
    Mess not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup.
  2. We will never colonize the moon by sakdoctor · · Score: 5, Funny

    The moon has a completely insurmountable 1.2 second ping.
    Even if a first generation move to the moon, their kids won't put up with a 1.2+ second ping in halo, and will move back to earth when they are 16.
    So you see, it won't be sustainable.

    1. Re:We will never colonize the moon by Sets_Chaos · · Score: 3, Funny

      What do you think the carbon nanotubes are for? We are going to run those to the moon to drop ping times down to more acceptable level. Everyone know wired is way faster than wireless...

    2. Re:We will never colonize the moon by idontgno · · Score: 3, Informative

      Signal propagation in conductors is only a fraction of lightspeed.

      This site, a cabling vendor, has a nice graph towards the middle of the page. Reading that graph tells me that the propagation delay of their twisted pair is 470 ns over a 100 m run.

      Google calc tells me that that works out to 212,765,957 meters per second. Scorching, eh? But compared to lightspeed?

      Again, let's ask Google calc

      Oh, that's only 71% of the speed of light. OK, so, that's a bit slower. Based on simple RTT and the signal propagation speed difference, your 2.4 sec ping just went up to just over 4 seconds.

      Yeah, ok, you were joking. And carbon nanotubule conductors may have a signal propagation speed higher than even virgin-copper oxygen-free 2-gauge Monster(tm) brand network cable. Or not. But even a superconductor, insulated with either vacuum or a dielectric insulator, has a signal propagation speed measured as a fraction of the speed of light. (I've heard .95c cited.)

      Superconductors are used, in fact, as delay lines.

      --
      Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
    3. Re:We will never colonize the moon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      No, you got it completely and utterly wrong. The truth is they'll never leave.

      On earth, maximal lag can be up to 200 ms just because of great circle distance and light is traveling (correct if I'm wrong) at only 2/3 of speed of light in a fiber optic network. And that's assuming a straight cable.

      The moon, however, is way more gamer friendly. It has no atmosphere, and thus no weather, so you can use shar... I mean lasers for communications. Maximal distance ping at the speed of light is just 36.4 ms. This means, if you have only two server locations and a network of laser linked towers, your worst round trip delay is below 19ms! Now tell me which gamer can resist a world as ideal as moon? Always perfect network and no one bothering you!

    4. Re:We will never colonize the moon by khallow · · Score: 2, Funny

      Besides the Moon is high ground. Bomb the Earth till they move all the servers up there.

  3. Oblig by russlar · · Score: 2, Funny

    "I have just signed legislation outlawing the Moon. We begin bombing in 5 minutes."

    --
    Anybody want my mod points?
  4. while we're linking websites about it by Trepidity · · Score: 5, Informative

    It might be worth pointing to the mission site or project site at NASA.

    1. Re:while we're linking websites about it by Informative · · Score: 4, Informative
      The PDFs for the press conference have pictures containing a white dot which are alledged to be the crater and the explosion.

      http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/392841main_SSC-data.pdf

      http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/360020main_LRO_LCROSS_presskit2.pdf

  5. Is it just me by clong83 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ... or does this posting say almost nothing? "We blew up a crater on the moon, and boy our data is great. Check back with you guys later."

    Is this just NASA-speak for "We haven't analyzed the data yet but we wanted to make some sort of comment anyways"?

    1. Re:Is it just me by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 4, Funny

      It's NASA speak for "*sigh*, what the fuck are we even doing?"

    2. Re:Is it just me by Interoperable · · Score: 2

      Well it's not like the general public actually wants to see the data. They need to keep the public interested so that they can garner funding and you do that by making vague, general statements about "cool" stuff. It saddens me that more people aren't very interested in learning what is actually being done but the rest of us can just wait a few years for the papers to make their wait unto arXiv.

      --
      So if this is the future...where's my jet pack?
  6. NASA TV showed the ride in by ronsr · · Score: 4, Informative

    There's a nice sequence of screen-grabs showing the journey into lunar oblivion plus summary of the post-impact press conference here.

    It was strange not seeing any massive impact plume like expected, but seems they got spectroscopic data which is what really matters. You got the sense that all the journos were disappointed there wasn't a big KABOOM with all those questions asked about it in the press conference.

  7. Re:Why we should blow up the moon... by peragrin · · Score: 3, Funny

    If you listened to the conspiracy idiots recently you would think we did blow up the moon.

    --
    i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
  8. A high energy impact with the moon's surface.. by blind+biker · · Score: 2, Funny

    followed by "a whole lot of math and science".

    Pure orgasm.

    --
    "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
    1. Re:A high energy impact with the moon's surface.. by skine · · Score: 5, Funny

      I think when you mix math and science it's an applied orgasm.

  9. News at 10:00 by Titanarm · · Score: 2, Funny

    Jim: This just in, we have confirmed reports that the two NASA probes that slammed into the moon earlier today have irrevocably changed the moons trajectory in such a way that it will intersect with Earth's. Scientist's calculated that impact will oc

  10. Incomplete Data . . . by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 2, Funny

    All nine of those instruments were gathering data simultaneously and streaming that data back to Earth.

    Unfortunately, this high volume of data alerted the MPAA/RIAA that copyright theft was in progress, and their lawyers ordered a DMCA take down order to cut off data transmission from the moon. So not all the data was received.

    The Moon must appear in court in order for its data service to be restored.

    --
    Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
  11. Re:After 40 years by PhxBlue · · Score: 2, Funny

    At least they didn't miss!

    --
    !#@%*)anks for hanging up the phone, dear.
  12. No translation needed. But in other words... by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 4, Insightful

    - We didn't miss the aim point.
      - None of the instruments malfunctioned.
      - We didn't lose the data on the way back.
      - We'll tell you what it means once we're done analyzing and checking it.

    In still other words "The project passed THE major milestone and is on track with nothing broken."

    --
    Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
  13. Re:unfortunate overhyping by confused+one · · Score: 2, Informative

    I think they honestly expected a bigger flash. Something that could be seen by a 10" or 12" telescope. Instead, the smallest telescope I heard say "we saw the impact" was MMT, which has a 256" aperature.