Orbiter to map moon, look for landing places for astronauts
Ice would be a source of drinking water
Water can be broken down into oxygen, hydrogen
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Before NASA sends astronauts back to the moon, it wants to scope out the territory it has largely ignored since the last time it sent astronauts there nearly 40 years ago.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter — scheduled to launch Thursday (June 18), will carry out the first in a series of robotic missions to map and measure the moon in far greater detail than before.
Of particular interest is whether frozen water might lurk in the shadows of craters near the moon’s poles. For the occupants of a future lunar settlement, ice would be a source not only of drinking water, but also air and energy. Water molecules can be broken down into oxygen and hydrogen. The mission’s primary purpose is to help NASA locate landing places for the astronauts and plan how to build a moon base. The data will also be a boon to scientists. The ice, if it exists, could provide a unique record of the past 2 billion years of the solar system. Portions of the polar craters lie in permanent shadow with temperatures below minus-300 degrees F. Planetary scientists hypothesize that when comets struck the moon, water vapour from the impacts could have collected on the cold spots in the craters.
Radar reflections
In the mid-1990s, the Clementine spacecraft found bright radar reflections that suggested something shiny at the bottom of craters near the south pole. In 1998, NASA’s Lunar Prospector spacecraft detected the presence of hydrogen, and perhaps the simplest explanation is that the hydrogen is within water molecules.
The instruments aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter are much more sensitive and precise and may provide a definitive answer.
If that is not sufficient, a second space probe hitching a ride into space with the orbiter could provide even more direct evidence. — © 2009 The New York Times News Service
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