We’re headed back to the moon…but this time, no people will be going.  Instead, a spacecraft will be crashing into the moon to look for water.

LCROSS….Courtesy of NASA

Previous missions have detected water on the moon…and there are some indications that there could be a significant amount of water on the moon.

Next week, we will learn a lot more.  The mission is called LCROSS (Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite).  The LCROSS spacecraft was launched into an orbit around the Earth and the Moon by an Atlas rocket on June 18th.   On Friday, October 9, that orbit will end in explosive fashion. 

The upperstage of the Atlas rocket and the LCROSS data collector will separate early Friday morning (the 9th).  You may be able to see this with a large telescope around midnight of the 8th/9th.  You won’t, however, be able to see the big show that follows.

On Friday morning, October 9th at 7:30am, the bus-sized piece of the Atlas rocket will slam into the south polar region of the moon.  It is here where scientists believe a significant amount of water exists.  Moon rock, dust and hopefully water will be ejected above the lunar surface….that’s when the LCROSS  will swoop in to collect information and relay it back to Earth.  The LCROSS data collector will also crash into the moon, creating another plume of debris.

What will we gain from this mission? We may find the presence of water on the moon.  So what? Well, NASA’s goal is to get to Mars.  A moon base would be a great place to have an “outpost”.  Astronauts could use the water to drink, to create power, or to create rocket fuel.   Sounds far fetched, doesn’t it? It’s not.

You won’t be able to see the LCROSS pieces crash into the moon along the Eastern Seaboard…daylight will prevent that…you would need a 10-12inch telescope.  You can watch it online, however..

NASA-TV …coverage begins at 6:30am EDT.

To bring the story to a local level….I spoke to Peter Schultz, Ph.D., a professor at Brown University.  He specializes in impact cratering.  He was excited beyond words about this project.  He’s a co-investigator.  I’ve spoken to Peter a few times about other missions.  This one is right up his alley, though.  In fact, he’ll be at the NASA Ames Research Center for the event.