Space policy experts say that having an abundance of water for future exploration would provide drinking water and a key ingredient for rocket fuel. Water on the moon changes everything in regard to future space exploration. The ecstatic LCROSS mission team led by NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California said they had hints water existed on the lunar surface. Micahel Wargo, chief lunar scientist at NASA in Washington said, “The moon harbors many secrets, and LCROSS has added a new layer to our understanding.”

LCROSS Mission

The LCROSS mission was launched from Kennedy Space Center on June 18th as a companion mission to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). Just after 7:31 a.m. EST on October 9th, NASA’s Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) slammed an empty rocket into the surface of the moon at a speed of 5,400 miles per hour. Another spacecraft followed about four minutes behind and recorded the event before crashing into the same spot in the Cabeus crater. The part of the crater where the impact occurred has apparently not seen sunlight for billions of years. Previous unmanned missions to the moon had detected hydrogen in soil near the lunar poles. The LCROSS team, as well as other scientists, had suspected the possibility of water in the forms of ice and ice vapor on the moon.

Space junkies who stayed up late to see the promised impact plumes from the spacecraft were sorely disappointed as a one-mile plume showed the only evidence of both impacts. NASA scientists had predicted a six-mile high plume of moon dust and debris shooting into space.  The event was covered live on BAC’s Good Morning America but turned out to be a public relations disaster when the highly anticipated impact turned out to be a “no-show.” Despite the absence of a live impact on morning television, the stunning news that water is evident in the debris plume was indeed spectacular news. The prospect of water would mean a great deal to the future colonization of Mars, discoveries on other planets, and the exploration of the universe.

Possible Lunar Water Rush?

While it’s not likely that water found on the lunar surface will be bottled and sold at your local market, it might be possible the ice discovered can be melted and put to some use for future space explorers based on the moon. LCROSS mission lead scientist Anthony Colaprete stated at a recent press conference that if the water contained elements such as methanol then it would not be drinkable. Apparently the data from spectrometers is still being assessed as to the exact composition of the ice churned up by the LCROSS impact. The data indicates other emission lines in the spectrographic data that haven’t completely been identified. The LCROSS probe only impacted one small area of the moon so it’s unclear if water exists anywhere else on the surface.

To analyze, understand, and decipher all of the massive amounts of rich data collected by LCROSS will take some time. The data shows traces of other substances as well as providing additional insight into the mechanics of lunar impacts and the resulting craters. The LRO remains in Lunar orbit and moves over the impact site providing more and more data with each pass. In order to gain the most data and understanding from the impact, LCROSS scientists continue to work with LRO scientists. The long-term implications of this discovery will certainly change what we know about Earth’s nearest celestial neighbor.

Did We Really Walk On The Moon?

What would you say if I told you World War II never happened? Or that George Bush is really an alien impostor? You’d probably call me crazy, and you’d probably be right. But what if I told you mankind have never even been close to the moon; let alone walked on it? I’d probably get the same response. However you’d be surprised at the number of people who believe that mankind’s greatest achievement was actually the biggest hoax of all time.

According to historical truth, twelve men walked on the moon between the years of 1969 and 1972. The most famous of these trips was Apollo 11, which launched on July 16^th 1969. According to this particular history, man’s first steps on the moon were taken on July 20^th 1969.

“It’s one small step for man !”

The first man on the moon is one of the most well-known men in the world. Neil Armstrong. As the 38 year-old American took his first steps onto the lunar surface, millions of people across the globe held their breath in anticipation. This very moment was broadcast live into living rooms across the globe; truly uniting mankind as a whole. So how is it possible that anyone could claim such an achievement was a hoax cooked up by the American government?

“One giant leap for deception?”

Almost 40 years on from those first steps, more and more people are buying into the theory that man has never visited its closest astronomical neighbour. In an attempt to understand people’s thinking, I asked a few folks what they thought. In the poll of 125 people, 73% of them believed the landings took place; whilst 27% believed the opposite ”“ that it was all an elaborate deception.

So, if the lunar landings were nothing more than some clever governmental hocus pocus, what evidence is there? The ”˜evidence’ provided by conspiracy theory nuts ranges from photographic problems to radiation issues. I’ll list a few here; however these are only a cross-section, there are far more.

Waving Flags, Strange Shadows and Crosshairs?

Out of all of the evidence against the moon landings, the most controversial has to be the photo evidence. It seems the conspiracy theorists have been through every photo with a fine-tooth comb. According to these theorists, several of the photos have shadows which are technically impossible. Let me explain. When the astronauts were on the moon, their only source of light was the sun; they took no artificial lights.

Strange, then, that in more than one photo the shadows of equipment and astronauts appear to be pointing in more than one direction. One light source means one shadow direction, right? Not in these photos it doesn’t.

Another interesting aspect of these photos is the crosshairs. In a nutshell, a crosshair is a mark on the film of the camera to help NASA work out distances between objects. The fact that they’re on the film means they can never be behind an object. Or can they? Again, in these photos, it seems so. One final piece of photographic ”˜evidence’ is the United States flag. A symbol of freedom. A symbol of liberty. A symbol which should be completely still in the airless vacuum of space. Once more these photos would seem to disagree. Theorists claim it’s clear that the flag changes its shape from one photo to the next. There’s no wind in space so how can this be?

Killer Space Doughnuts?

Science books tell us that one day we’ll be able to travel beyond our own galaxy and out into the vast reaches of the universe. If we are to believe conspiracy theorists ”“ there’s no way that’s ever going to happen. Why not? The Van Allen Belt. Imagine a huge ring doughnut of radiation surrounding the earth and you’ll have a pretty good picture of what this belt is. A common conspiracy theory is that this belt would kill anyone who tried to pass through it. The huge amounts of radiation would, well, fry them. There is, of course, no proof that this is the case, but as with many conspiracy theories, it wouldn’t seem there needs to be.

The Truth (?)

I spoke to leading space scientist and former NASA employee Tania Burchell from the National Space Centre to find out just what she thought of all of this.

“There is no way on Earth !that the US government could have faked the Moon landings” she told me “they would have needed a completely airless sound stage a couple of hundred miles across with a one-sixth gravity generator to achieve the same !effects we see in the images and video from the Moon. No one on planet Earth has such technology – not even Steven Spielberg.”

I wondered if Tania thought we’d ever revisit our closest cosmic neighbour:

“I have every confidence that humans will be back on the Moon in twenty years’ time – and in a big way that will delight us all.”

Tania also had a convincing explanation for the photography problems that seem to be on the front line of this argument.

“Have you ever taken a truly flawless image? I’ve not! The images and video are from the Moon’s difficult-to-photograph surface conditions. Any flaws in them are a result of those conditions.”

So, it would seem that the experts on science fact think the hoax claims are nothing more than science fiction.

So is it Really Made of Cheese?

There are times in life when we have to take things at face value. Whether or not the moon landings were smoke and mirrors or cold hard fact; the only person you’ll believe is you. So, do some research; watch the moon landing videos, take a look at the pictures, visit the National Space Centre, and decide for yourself where the truth lies. It’s out there somewhere!

Oh, and if you feel like spending millions of pounds building a rocket to the moon to see for yourself, be sure to send me a postcard.

I can’t promise I’ll believe you though.

Rob Taylor