Bombing the Moon for Water 625
s20451 writes "In 1998, NASA scientists deliberately crashed the Lunar Prospector into the Moon, in a
failed attempt to detect traces of water allegedly hiding in deep craters at the lunar south pole.
Now the BBC is reporting a new proposal to attack the lunar poles with "Bunker Buster" missiles to liberate a detectable amount of water. Called Polar Night, the mission is being proposed as part of the "Discovery" series of probes."
Yeah, but why? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:What a great idea. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Hey! (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Yeah, but why? (Score:5, Insightful)
So, we want to know more. And this is one way to do it.
Re:hmm (Score:5, Insightful)
And by the way, bombs don't generally need atmospheric oxygen, the oxidizer is part of the explosive compound.
Re:The Time Machine? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Damn… (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Do we really need more? (Score:2, Insightful)
Fresh water isn't as abundant as you'd like to think.
Plus, if water is found on the moon, it would be easier to build an operate a moon base. (hauling water in space is DAMN expensive)
Re:It won't explode.. stupid mission. (Score:3, Insightful)
Or did you read and article and just happen to miss this part:
You might want to refrain from commenting on anyone else's stupidity or engineering skills.
-B
A show of hands.. (Score:3, Insightful)
Yeah, I thought so.
Nathan
Much like UNDERWATER, a compressed blast is worse. (Score:2, Insightful)
On the OTHER side, the bunker buster burrows deeper and THEN blows up. It forces the matter outward radially since there is absolutely no "lesser density area" toward which the blast might go.
I might be wrong but the reason those guards in the bunkers were pressure cooked is because the blast burned inside, not outside, it was more intense despite there being less air, and it imprinted them into the walls.
The shockwave outside is mostly blown outward and being that space is a vacuum the shock isn't very destructive and thus doesn't split the moon... a shockwave INSIDE the moon forcing matter every which way, WILL.
JOKE: And if it doesn't on the first shot, you can be Sure our Dick 'n tha' Bush administration will justify further blasts because "we know the moon is hiding WMD's up there, and by Gawd we weel faeeend thaem". And Rummie most definitely will jump at earning his share of the Carlyle bribes and ok anything.
-DaedalusHKX
PS - instead of colonizing outer space and learning about our world, solving our problems, crises and issues, we're too busy legislating so that corporations will profit and innovation will slow down. Instead of trying to spread the wealth we are concentrating it. I believe this is pathetic. But then a plutocratic capitalism is NOT about making the world better, it is about the rich fooling the masses into paying them more money and helping them remain filthy rich pigs with no conscience. And whenever one of the pigs develops a conscience he is used as a "see we're not all bad" example by the rest of the money pigs. Let me see one of those PIGS hand his last bit of money for the year or month to someone who NEEDS it, without it being tax deductible and without ANYONE seeing it done, so they can't brag.
Re:Hey! (Score:2, Insightful)
RTFA. THEY ARE NOT USING ANY EXPLOSIVES!!!!!!
They are using TECHNOLOGY derived from "bunker buster" bombs to have the sensors penetrate several meters into the surface.