NASA Finds Major Ice Source In Moon Crater

coondoggie writes with news that a NASA survey of the moon's Shackleton crater by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has provided data indicating as much as 22% of the crater's surface may be covered in ice. "The team of NASA and university scientists using laser light from LRO's laser altimeter examined the floor of Shackleton crater. They found the crater's floor is brighter than those of other nearby craters, which is consistent with the presence of small amounts of ice. ... The spacecraft mapped Shackleton crater with unprecedented detail, using a laser to illuminate the crater's interior and measure its albedo or natural reflectance. The laser light measures to a depth comparable to its wavelength, or about a micron. That represents a millionth of a meter, or less than one ten-thousandth of an inch. The team also used the instrument to map the relief of the crater's terrain based on the time it took for laser light to bounce back from the moon's surface. The longer it took, the lower the terrain's elevation. ... The crater, named after the Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton, is two miles deep and more than 12 miles wide. Like several craters at the moon's south pole, the small tilt of the lunar spin axis means Shackleton crater's interior is permanently dark and therefore extremely cold."

Comments

The real issues are the neo-cons in CONgress

[WindBourne]

They are working hard to stop private space. They finally relented to allowed a small amount of money for 2.5 crafts, but they insist that 5x or more money flow to their jobs Bill: The Senate Launch System (SLS). Now, they are blocking NASA from helping Bigelow from getting off the ground. Yet, if Bigelow is off the ground around 2014, we will go back to the moon within 4 years or so.

What is needed is for us to GUT SLS on the next budget, but create a COTS II for SHLV. Then create 2 launchers of which they both get max 5B to develop it, and must launch for under .5B with over 120 tonnes to LEO. In addition, at the end of it, a new contract will be opened to pay for 5 launches per year for 4 years (2 from one and 2 from another, with a 3rd going to the lowest bidder). By doing something like this, we end up with similar launch vehicles with similar costs structures. Lose one, and we are still going.
Note, that we allow the current builders of the SLS to put it up for bid. If they can do it for that cheap and that quickly, then they get the contract.

But, the real priorities must be human launch AND private space stations. That gives multiple locations, and allows us to fully test equipment in space prior to going to the moon BEFORE 2020.