NASA Crashes Rocket Into Moon's Surface
By VOA News
09 October 2009
The U.S. space agency, NASA, has crashed two rockets into the moon to search for residues of water and ice, but expected images of the impact failed to materialize.
NASA directed a large empty rocket into a crater at the moon's south pole Friday, followed minutes later by a probe (LCROSS, or Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) designed to photograph the event, and capture residue from the impact that might detect water or ice.
NASA engineers believe the initial crash threw up a massive plume of lunar dirt at least 10 kilometers above the lunar surface, however live photos of the impact were not immediately available to the public as NASA had earlier promised. NASA officials say they are working to retrieve the images.
NASA says despite the lack of images from the event, both operations were conducted successfully.
NASA officials say finding water on the moon could make it easier to establish bases there for future astronauts.
The mission is part of the agency's Constellation program, which could eventually lead to the construction of lunar bases to be used for launching a manned mission to Mars.
NASA Scientist Michael Bicay says researchers know more about the surface of Mars than the polar regions of the moon. He says most previous studies of the moon explored the moon's equatorial areas.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
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