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posted 10/09/09 12:00 PM | updated 10/09/09 11:19 AM
Featured Post! | Views: 149 | Comments : 5 | Science

Moon Survives Impact of Centaur and LCROSS

By Michael van Baker
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Certain people found my moon-cracking-open-like-an-egg fears alarmist. And obviously, in retrospect, the egg is on my face.* NASA's LCROSS mission, designed to test for water (ice, actually) on the moon, went off without a hitch at around 4:30 this morning. The Centaur rocket made its divot, the following spacecraft sent back its data (series of photos, impact video), and then it too augured in a few minutes later, leaving a 100-foot-wide hole.

However, sane people do have concerns about tossing our old tincan spacecraft all over the moon. As National Geographic reports, NASA has already littered the lunar surroundings with over two dozen orbiters, landers, and rovers. It sounds funny, but there's a growing "lunar conservationist" movement that wants to make sure future smash landings are carefully vetted, so that the moon doesn't end up looking like Oscar Madison's apartment. Neatniks in space!

*I can't believe I left off the /joke tag.

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Not to worry...
The "lunar conservationists" should think before they speak. It costs an enormous--eee-normous--amount of money to put our little bits of "junk" on the lunar surface. At the current rate, it will take many, many thousands of years before the moon will begin to resemble, even vaguely, our sadly polluted home world. Indeed, humans might not even survive long enough to visibly sully our beloved satellite.
Comment by David
2 days ago
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link fix
Hey, your impact video link is busted. Was very sad :(
Comment by Brandon
2 days ago
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RE: link fix
Sorry! Fixed. I initially just did a quick Copy link location, and it was a bunch of javascript. Had to pare it down to the real URL.
Comment by Michael van Baker
2 days ago
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Spoiler alert!
Man, this thing takes for f-ing ever to play. 4 minutes of one frame every 5 seconds. Then, just when you're ready for the money shot, you get a group of techies and then it returns in some weird color-mode.

NASA, get your act together if you want people jazzed about this. Hell, MvB two headlines on this were more interesting than this vid.
Comment by bilco
2 days ago
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RE: Spoiler alert!
I think the weird color mode is infrared, looking for the heat signature, bilco. But yes, it's a bit of a letdown as a visual experience. I probably should have mentioned that it was for hardcore spaceheads only. That's 10 minutes of my life I won't get back.
Comment by Michael van Baker
1 day ago
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