Moon blast: LCROSS will plunge two missiles into the surface of the moon to test for water. Photograph: NASA Photograph: PR
11.13am: The mission is called LCROSS and by lunchtime today we expect it to be in a thousand pieces scattered over the lunar surface, having thumped into the moon at more than 9,000 kilometres per hour and leaving a crater as wide as a cricket pitch.
One part of the spacecraft is due to strike the moon at around 12.30pm BST. The second part will follow it down and scan the debris plume – which is expected to rise up to 10km – for signs of water. Of course, the probe is fitted with highly advanced cheese sensors too, courtesy of engineers at Ecole Normale Superieur, Paris.
The probes will be steered into a huge, permanently shadowed crater on the moon's south pole. Scientists believe that frozen water ice might lie at the bottom of the crater basin.
Our technology correspondent, Bobbie Johnson, has written about the mission in detail.
Nasa will begin their live coverage of the event at around 11.15 BST today. I'll start live blogging the event abour 45 minutes later – as soon as I'm out of this week's science podcast, where our guest is an expert in the evolution of penises and sexual activity across the animal kingdom.
The LCROSS probes are going to tweet their own demise – and you can see these last missives on the right of this page.
See you back here for the big event.
0 comments:
Post a Comment