Last month’s experiment by NASA, sending two spacecraft out to crash into the Moon, has turned up wonderful new evidence that our closest celestial neighbor does indeed contain water. Anthony Colaprete, project scientist for the LCROSS mission that sent the spacecraft up, said “We are ecstatic … [what we found] requires further analysis, but it is safe to say Cabeus holds water.”
Though previously thought by all to be a barren, dry orbital, the presence of water on the Moon has far-reaching implications for further space exploration. For one thing, it’s a long-held supposition that where there is water, there is life. Thus, there might be specialized organisms on the Moon that could radically change the way we think about how life develops in a vacuum. At the same time, NASA’s radical experiment with, for all intents and purposes, bombing the Moon to yield results might be repeated in other areas, or at the very least challenge the staid and conservative way the organization has been conducting its science.
Might this discovery drum up new interest in getting humanity back into space? NASA’s fortunes have been on the decline in recent years, but perhaps our kids might find their futures in the stars.
Keep an eye on this story as the news continues to break and develop.
Comments
Canada Guy
November 13th, 2009 - 2:30:55 PM
The future of human space exploration looks bleak. After making great leaps 50 years ago, stagnation has taken over. No human has left Earth orbit in 37 years, and NASA's current unambitious goals look to be further delayed or scaled back. http://www.watchinghistory.com/2009/11/future-of-space-exploration.html
Stephen
November 14th, 2009 - 1:40:23 AM
Great news. Really interested that they can find water on Moon