Nasa to bomb the moon friday!

[Cracka]

Got $80 million to blow? Why not shoot a spacecraft at the moon! Let's hope they don't somehow fuck up the moons orbit or some shit..

http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/93080?fp=1


Has a hyperactive five-year-old taken over as the director of NASA? It sure seems like it. On Friday morning, an unmanned spacecraft launched in June will crash into the moon's surface. On purpose.

Anyone not named Michael Bay is likely to ask why. Here's the answer: NASA wants to know if the twin impacts of the Lunar Crater Observation and its Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) will reveal any ice or water under the moon's surface.

Finding out shouldn't be an issue. When the twin crafts hit the lunar surface at around 6,000 mph, NASA expects "plumes of moon dust — perhaps full of ice — (to soar) 6.2 miles high above the moon's Cabeus crater."

Anticipation among the earthbound is running high. Lookups on "nasa moon bombing" are scorching the search box. Related queries on "nasa.gov" and "NASA moon mission" are also rocketing skywards. More than a few folks are wondering how much the soon-to-be-destroyed LCROSS costs. Answer: $79 million, according to Christian Science Monitor.

Clearly, this is one of those cases where a picture is worth a thousand words. We're gonna go one better and show you a video from NASA. The animated clip shows what NASA expects to happen. The entire sequence looks a bit like one of Dr. Evil's satellites crashing into the Death Star. In other words, it's awesome. See it for yourself below.

[Shrapnellistic]

This won't affect the moon's orbit... You see 'dem craters? Asteroids made them.

[thwak]

I personally think they should send bruce willis up there to drill for water but what do I know?

[Strell]

I say this is pretty goddamned badassed.

[crunchb3rry]

Watch them fuck up the tide and cause another tsunami.

[DarkNessBear]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Csj7vMKy4EI

Never thought this video would be relevant to any discussion.

[whoknows]

Hell yeah!

What other country can say they bombed the moon? None. God bless America!

[Nebenator]

This is very badass-ee, indeed, but we're the ones who are paying for all of this....

[Chairman_LMAO]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Csj7vMKy4EI

Never thought this video would be relevant to any discussion.

Dammit, I wanted to post this.

I'm going to bake a cake in the shape of the moon blowing up.

[crunchb3rry]

That's what I loved about Mr. Show. They'd start the episode with some nonsensical bullshit skit and at the end tie it in somehow in a way that made you laugh your ass off.

"And we'll be doing it during a full moon so we make sure we get it all."

[dafoomie]

Knowing whether or not there is water across the Moon's surface and whether or not there is a water cycle on the moon is extremely useful information. Some small, used parts of the rocket will collide with the surface and kick up some dust, not a big deal, and not that expensive. Its being done this way because its the cheapest way to do it.

[ratzombie]

This is pretty awesome.

[shadowkast]

time???

[KingBroly]

Uh...does anyone else think this is a bad idea?

[blitz6speed]

Uh...does anyone else think this is a bad idea?

It will not affect anything. If the moon or sun were any farther or closer, we'd all be dead anyway. I doubt something like this can affect something so perfectly created.

[fatherofcaitlyn]

Uh...does anyone else think this is a bad idea?

Yes and no.

If the test proves more water embedded within the moon, it means a colony can be established with less required resources.

The colony can be anything such as a backup population in case of a cataclysm, a much cheaper launch pad for intrasolar exploration, a really, really large telescope or telescope array or a cheap shipyard.

Granted, most people would rather not be foreclosed on, but the government isn't going to spend any money to bail you out. Take it for what you can get.

[keithp]

time???

7:30 a.m. EST, or in about 10 minutes! I'm watching it on NASA TV to see what happens.

[keithp]

5 min!

It's like watching a car crash about to happen...

[GreasyButton]

:/ meh

[mtxbass1]

:/ meh

x2

Hyped up for all these cool video images, and the actual event was a series of very slow still shots that eventually just went white with the impact.

[keithp]

x2

Hyped up for all these cool video images, and the actual event was a series of very slow still shots that eventually just went white with the impact.

I know, what a letdown. Hopefully in a few hours some observatory sites around the world will release some cooler video. I know the Hubble was supposed to be watching it too.

[Chairman_LMAO]

You kids are so desensitized. It's not a Michael Bay film.

[Lord_Kefka]

No jokes about treaties with the Moon People? NATO discussions? America saying the moon is ours to explode?

For shame.

[Jek Porkins]

I suspect that the use of the term "bomb" gave many people the perception that this was something much different than what actually transpired. While the term is still accurate, it's intended audience was likely to mis-interpret it.

[mykevermin]

You kids are so desensitized. It's not a Michael Bay film.

:rofl:

[Dr Mario Kart]

Where was the kaboom? There was supposed to be a moon-shattering kaboom

[shieryda]

Fuck NASA and Fuck the space program in general. We're never going to build a base for human populations on other planets. We need to fix shit on our own planet first.

[keithp]

Fuck NASA and Fuck the space program in general. We're never going to build a base for human populations on other planets. We need to fix bomb shit on our own planet first.

Fixed!

[help1]

NASA is a waste of money. Is astronomy interesting? Yes. But there are never ending questions associated with it, most of which will never affect us here on Earth.

[SpazX]

NASA is a waste of money. Is astronomy interesting? Yes. But there are never ending questions associated with it, most of which will never affect us here on Earth.

NASA has invented a ton of products that affect us here on Earth.

Research isn't always (or maybe even usually) profitable. The government has funded a lot of research through NASA and other programs that lead to much better shit, but wasn't profitable enough that a for-profit business would do it. Then the businesses get to sell that shit and profit like motherfuckers on government-funded research, but anyway, the research is pretty damned important in many areas, including NASA.

Understanding the universe is good too though.

[fatherofcaitlyn]

NASA is a waste of money.

Seconded. However, it isn't like the gubmint is going to let private citizens send up their own ships and explore outside of Earth. The government could be spending money here on something somebody down the road could turn into something useful or bailing out another group of campaign contributors.

[dafoomie]

NASA is a waste of money. Is astronomy interesting? Yes. But there are never ending questions associated with it, most of which will never affect us here on Earth.
Advancing the general level of technology in America isn't a bad thing... Consider it like a prerequisite to other technologies in Civilization.

It will seem like a good investment when we're mining asteroids with more rare minerals apiece than on all of the Earth. Even the Moon has an abundant supply of Helium 3 which we could use for the next generation of power plants. Or you can let the Chinese, the Russians, and the Indians pass us by and become the preeminent economic and military powers on Earth because you were shortsighted. That probe the Indians launched was for finding out where the most Helium-3 is, no matter what they say it was for.

[VipFREAK]

You have fun with that...

[dmaul1114]

Fuck NASA and Fuck the space program in general. We're never going to build a base for human populations on other planets. We need to fix shit on our own planet first.

Fuck that attitude.

The main purpose of human life IMO, is the generation of knowledge. And that includes expanding our knowledge of the solar system and universe beyond.

If we're not focused on that, then we're not doing anything to take advantage of the one facet that makes us more advance than other species of life on earth--our intellects.

[shieryda]

Fuck that attitude.

The main purpose of human life IMO, is the generation of knowledge. And that includes expanding our knowledge of the solar system and universe beyond.

If we're not focused on that, then we're not doing anything to take advantage of the one facet that makes us more advance than other species of life on earth--our intellects.


Hey, there are plenty of opportunities right here on our own planet for "expanding our knowledge". How much do we know about the ocean floor? Very little in comparison to what we've learned about our solar system.

I'd much rather see our government spend money to help the homeless or cure cancer, than shooting shit into the galaxy and building telescopes to look at comets.

[dmaul1114]

I support building all types of knowledge. Both on-planet and off. In short, I'll never bitch about my tax dollars going to any kind of science. I'd vote to put 100% of mine into science if I could.

As for whether to spend more studying stuff on planet or off. That's a tough question. On planet stuff is more directly affecting us. But they're are bigger questions which can only be answered by expanding our knowledge of the universe.

[rickshankshaw]

Hey, there are plenty of opportunities right here on our own planet for "expanding our knowledge". How much do we know about the ocean floor? Very little in comparison to what we've learned about our solar system.

I'd much rather see our government spend money to help the homeless or cure cancer, than shooting shit into the galaxy and building telescopes to look at comets.

I'm all for it because eventually all life on this planet will go extinct.