Did you know there is water on the Moon? Did you know there was a LOT of water on the Moon? That discovery and how it was made was presented by Tony Colaprete from the Ames Research Center. Tony is the Principal Investigator for the LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) mission and previewed a presentation he will give later this month to a science conference in Israel. 63 members of the INSPIRE Online Learning Community were in attendance for the presentation and the Q&A that followed.
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| Visual spectrum image of the LCROSS impact |
LCROSS piggybacked its mission with the LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter), being composed of a modified adapter ring and spent Centaur second stage. LCROSS itself trailed the Centaur, allowing it to impact first into the lunar surface and taking observations which were immediately relayed to Earth. The LRO and Earth based telescopes also imaged the impact. The goal of the impact was to blast surface material into space and make spectrographs of the ejecta. While visually disappointing, a wealth of information was recovered by LCROSS. Tony Colaprete and his team have poured over the data during the year following the impact, and are now releasing their findings: the Moon is wet. This conclusion is verified by other orbiting spacecraft from other countries.
The benefits of finding this lunar water are many. Historically, it helps piece together the Moon's past, giving more information about the creation of the Solar System. Lunar water also offers an in-situ supply for future expeditions. This water can then be broken down to oxygen (needed for life support) and hydrogen (fuel).
If you missed the chat, you can find it in the archives in the Live Chat section off the Connect page, or on Monday in the INSPIRE Archives on the Home Page. DOn't forget to copy the pass code and take the quiz!
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