snow
11-17-2000, 08:01 PM
From SpaceViews:<br>
<br>
<br>
Lure of lunar ice<br>
<br>
Space resource experts continue to be intrigued by the<br>
prospect that water is stashed at the Moon's poles.<br>
<br>
Tucked away in craters that never see sunlight, water would<br>
have been primarily brought to the lunar surface via impacting comets.<br>
If there, water could be processed to yield both rocket fuel and<br>
oxygen. That would be a resource bonanza, workshop participants said,<br>
ideal for supporting future Moon bases and other human space<br>
exploration goals.<br>
<br>
NASA's Lunar Prospector spacecraft that orbited the Moon in<br>
1998-99 did spot rich fields of hydrogen. While some scientists infer<br>
from the probe's data that water had been detected, others contend<br>
that Lunar Prospector measured deposits of hydrogen implanted there by<br>
blasts of solar wind washing across the Moon's crater pocked face.<br>
<br>
"The question of what's at the permanently shadowed craters on<br>
the Moon is of great interest," said Gerald Sanders, a space resources<br>
expert at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. "Is it<br>
hydrogen, or water, a combination, or something else? That one answer<br>
could totally shape how we progress going back to the Moon," he said.<br>
<br>
<br>
Tons of water<br>
<br>
"I suspect that we have found water ice," said Alan Binder,<br>
director of the Lunar Research Institute in Tucson, Arizona. He was<br>
Lunar Prospector's principal investigator.<br>
<br>
Lunar Prospector found numbers of "cold traps," Binder said.<br>
These are small expanses of lunar surface that he believes hold water-<br>
ice crystals mixed in with surface materials. "What we are probably<br>
seeing in the data is water ice," he said.<br>
<br>
Binder told SPACE.com that he estimates on the order of 300<br>
million metric tons of water is available on the Moon. But more<br>
knowledge is needed about where and how large permanently shadowed<br>
regions are, he said, as are lunar landers to conduct up-close-and-<br>
personal look-sees into those resource-laden spots.<br>
<br>
A strong proponent for a commercial return to the Moon, Binder<br>
said that the low-cost Lunar Prospector -- about a quarter the cost of<br>
other space-exploring probes like it -- produced a high scientific<br>
return, opening the doors for private lunar ventures and showing NASA<br>
it can be done for much less.<br>
<br>
"To wait for NASA to get us back to the Moon is futile,"<br>
Binder said.<br>
<br>
<br>
Lure of lunar ice<br>
<br>
Space resource experts continue to be intrigued by the<br>
prospect that water is stashed at the Moon's poles.<br>
<br>
Tucked away in craters that never see sunlight, water would<br>
have been primarily brought to the lunar surface via impacting comets.<br>
If there, water could be processed to yield both rocket fuel and<br>
oxygen. That would be a resource bonanza, workshop participants said,<br>
ideal for supporting future Moon bases and other human space<br>
exploration goals.<br>
<br>
NASA's Lunar Prospector spacecraft that orbited the Moon in<br>
1998-99 did spot rich fields of hydrogen. While some scientists infer<br>
from the probe's data that water had been detected, others contend<br>
that Lunar Prospector measured deposits of hydrogen implanted there by<br>
blasts of solar wind washing across the Moon's crater pocked face.<br>
<br>
"The question of what's at the permanently shadowed craters on<br>
the Moon is of great interest," said Gerald Sanders, a space resources<br>
expert at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. "Is it<br>
hydrogen, or water, a combination, or something else? That one answer<br>
could totally shape how we progress going back to the Moon," he said.<br>
<br>
<br>
Tons of water<br>
<br>
"I suspect that we have found water ice," said Alan Binder,<br>
director of the Lunar Research Institute in Tucson, Arizona. He was<br>
Lunar Prospector's principal investigator.<br>
<br>
Lunar Prospector found numbers of "cold traps," Binder said.<br>
These are small expanses of lunar surface that he believes hold water-<br>
ice crystals mixed in with surface materials. "What we are probably<br>
seeing in the data is water ice," he said.<br>
<br>
Binder told SPACE.com that he estimates on the order of 300<br>
million metric tons of water is available on the Moon. But more<br>
knowledge is needed about where and how large permanently shadowed<br>
regions are, he said, as are lunar landers to conduct up-close-and-<br>
personal look-sees into those resource-laden spots.<br>
<br>
A strong proponent for a commercial return to the Moon, Binder<br>
said that the low-cost Lunar Prospector -- about a quarter the cost of<br>
other space-exploring probes like it -- produced a high scientific<br>
return, opening the doors for private lunar ventures and showing NASA<br>
it can be done for much less.<br>
<br>
"To wait for NASA to get us back to the Moon is futile,"<br>
Binder said.<br>