Nasa prepares to bomb the moon, page 3
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reply posted on 18-6-2009 @ 11:24 AM by SecretUsername
reply to post by whoswatchinwho



Edited to add my source check above

There is video and a little gif file somewhere in there with a comparative hit filmed through a telescope.

[edit on 18-6-2009 by SecretUsername]


reply posted on 18-6-2009 @ 11:40 AM by getreadyalready
reply to post by SecretUsername



That link shows liftoff in 1 hour and 33 minutes. That means it will lift off at 02:12 E.S.T. Not 5:12!

The impact is still going to be October though, so nothing to see tonight.

That huge photo link of the "living moon" is awesome. Thanks for the link! That is a very, very bright spot you pointed out!


reply posted on 18-6-2009 @ 11:51 AM by LunaDestructa
Nasa LCROSS Press Release



LCROSS also uses the spent second stage of the Atlas rocket, the Centaur, as an SUV-sized kinetic impactor–
something that has never been done before-to excavate a small crater in the bottom of a permanently shadowed lunar crater.

Impact
To maximize the creation of a debris plume, the impacts of the Centaur rocket and the LCROSS shepherding spacecraft need sufficient speed and a high angle of impact. Engineers have estimated that the Centaur and LCROSS spacecraft will impact the lunar surface at approximately 1.55 miles per second (2.5 km/s), five times faster than a bullet fired from a .44 Magnum. The projected angle of impact is approximately 80 degrees with respect to the lunar surface.

To achieve this high angle of impact, the LCROSS spacecraft and the Centaur will execute a flyby of the moon approximately five days after launch entering into an extended LGALRO. This portion of the mission is expected to be four months.

The exact length of the LGALRO is dependent on exact time of launch and is calculated to satisfy a number of mission constraints including achieving the targeted crater and the correct phase and tilt of the moon for proper illumination of the debris plume at the time of impact.

At launch, the LCROSS team will announce the lunar pole and the primary target crater. Factoring any additional information,
a final determination of the target crater will be made 30 days before impact.

On final approach to the moon, the LCROSS spacecraft and the Centaur will separate. The shepherding spacecraft will perform
a braking maneuver and will reorient to point the instrument payload to capture the Centaur impact.

After the Centaur impacts, the LCROSS spacecraft will have up to four minutes of data collection and transmit that data back to LCROSS
Mission Control.

LCROSS is required to achieve a targeting accuracy of approximately 6.2 miles (10 km) radius, but is expected to be significantly
more accurate (0.75 or 1.2 km radius).
The Centaur impact crater is expected to be approximately 90 feet (27 m) in diameter by 16 feet (5 m) deep, while the

LCROSS spacecraft impact crater is expected to be approximately 60 feet (18 m) in diameter by 10 feet (3 m) deep. The
impact is expected to create a very brief visible flash that will last less than 100 milliseconds. Most of the excavated material
or ejecta will be thrown upward at a velocity of more than 820 feet per second (250 m/sec.)

Studies using the Ames Vertical Gun Range indicate the LCROSS impacts will create a significantly larger crater than Lunar
Prospector (LP) that impacted the moon at 1 mile/sec (1.7 km/sec) with a mass of 348 pounds (158 kg) at a glancing angle
of 6 degrees.



A couple things according to that release.. We've got a long time till the actual impact occurs (4+months). Its much larger & faster than anything that's been done before.



reply posted on 18-6-2009 @ 12:07 PM by kingsnake
reply to post by SecretUsername



And where, in that link, does it specify the telescope requirements to view this explosion?

I really want to see it

EDIT: Oh I found it, here it is: lcross.arc.nasa.gov...

[edit on 18/6/2009 by kingsnake]


reply posted on 18-6-2009 @ 12:11 PM by larphillips
Originally posted by 0010110011101
reply to
post by WendyHalo



OK, I didnt know that this experiment had been done 3 times before. If NASA have slammed 3 different objects into the moon for this sort of test before, why are they doing it again?

Is the difference this time that we have something up there orbiting to take more accurate measurements or what?

Or is it simply a case of if at first you dont succeed, try, try, try and try again?!?!?!



How about blow up a bunch of crap up there before other countries start landing probes and men?


reply posted on 18-6-2009 @ 12:11 PM by mapsurfer_
Originally posted by kingsnake
reply to
post by SecretUsername



And where, in that link, does it specify the telescope requirements to view this explosion?

I really want to see it


I don't know squat about the telesccope/cam requirements, but I recall seeing a video clip animation on NASA TV that tells how they can measure the flying debris particles for composition. I suspect its a spectrometer chromatography type of a device.
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