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Date: 18 Oct 2006 23:34:21
From: Sam Wormley
Subject: A Dry Moon After All?
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A Dry Moon After All?
http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2006/1018/1
By Richard A. Kerr
ScienceNOW Daily News
18 ober 2006
Two new studies fail to find any sign of previously reported ice
deposits cached in the deep chill of the moon's shadows. Much of NASA's
planned scientific exploration is geared to the search for lunar ice,
which astronauts could drink and convert to rocket fuel, but now it
appears that nothing short of a dedicated rover mission--as yet
unplanned--can settle the question.
Radar signals bounced off the moon in 1996 by the orbiting Clementine
spacecraft hinted at massive ice deposits in craters near the moon's
south pole, parts of which never see the sun. Presumably, water
delivered by impacting comets over the eons could have made its way to
these 80 degree kelvin (80K) cold traps and been preserved as ice just
beneath the surface of the loose soil.
These ice signatures seemed to be confirmed by planetary scientist
Donald Campbell of Cornell University, who--with colleagues--used two
giant Earth-based radio dishes to bounce radar signals off the moon.
But thanks to the 20-meter resolution of the new combination of
instruments, the researchers could see that the "ice" signals were
coming from all the wrong places. Instead of being in the permanently
shaded wall of Shackleton crater, for example, they showed up in
well-lit Schomberger crater and many smaller young craters, the team
reports tomorrow in Nature. Such areas are roughened by crater ejecta
and slumping rock. "Right now, the explanation for the [radar signals]
has something to do with reflection between rocks and boulders rather
than ice at the poles," says planetary scientist Bruce Hapke of the
University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.
See: http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2006/1018/1
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Date: 20 Oct 2006 01:37:00
From: Educate
Subject: Re: A Dry Moon After All?
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Sam Wormley wrote:
> A Dry Moon After All?
> http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2006/1018/1
>
> By Richard A. Kerr
> ScienceNOW Daily News
> 18 ober 2006
>
> Two new studies fail to find any sign of previously reported ice
> deposits cached in the deep chill of the moon's shadows. Much of NASA's
> planned scientific exploration is geared to the search for lunar ice,
> which astronauts could drink and convert to rocket fuel, but now it
> appears that nothing short of a dedicated rover mission--as yet
> unplanned--can settle the question.
>
> Radar signals bounced off the moon in 1996 by the orbiting Clementine
> spacecraft hinted at massive ice deposits in craters near the moon's
> south pole, parts of which never see the sun. Presumably, water
> delivered by impacting comets over the eons could have made its way to
> these 80 degree kelvin (80K) cold traps and been preserved as ice just
> beneath the surface of the loose soil.
>
> These ice signatures seemed to be confirmed by planetary scientist
> Donald Campbell of Cornell University, who--with colleagues--used two
> giant Earth-based radio dishes to bounce radar signals off the moon.
> But thanks to the 20-meter resolution of the new combination of
> instruments, the researchers could see that the "ice" signals were
> coming from all the wrong places. Instead of being in the permanently
> shaded wall of Shackleton crater, for example, they showed up in
> well-lit Schomberger crater and many smaller young craters, the team
> reports tomorrow in Nature. Such areas are roughened by crater ejecta
> and slumping rock. "Right now, the explanation for the [radar signals]
> has something to do with reflection between rocks and boulders rather
> than ice at the poles," says planetary scientist Bruce Hapke of the
> University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.
>
> See: http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2006/1018/1
There has been a considerable investment in water ( & mineral) radar
detection usually but by orbiters. Reliable detection depends on narrow
band hi intensity, close proximity, detection - Im surprised anyone would
waste the time using earthbased exploration?
Jerry
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<p >Sam Wormley wrote:
<blockquote TYPE=CITE >A Dry Moon After All?
<br > <a href="http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2006/1018/1">http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2006/1018/1</a>
<p >By Richard A. Kerr
<br >ScienceNOW Daily News
<br >18 ober 2006
<p >Two new studies fail to find any sign of previously reported ice
<br >deposits cached in the deep chill of the moon's shadows. Much of NASA's
<br >planned scientific exploration is geared to the search for lunar ice,
<br >which astronauts could drink and convert to rocket fuel, but now it
<br >appears that nothing short of a dedicated rover mission--as yet
<br >unplanned--can settle the question.
<p >Radar signals bounced off the moon in 1996 by the orbiting Clementine
<br >spacecraft hinted at massive ice deposits in craters near the moon's
<br >south pole, parts of which never see the sun. Presumably, water
<br >delivered by impacting comets over the eons could have made its way
to
<br >these 80 degree kelvin (80K) cold traps and been preserved as ice just
<br >beneath the surface of the loose soil.
<p >These ice signatures seemed to be confirmed by planetary scientist
<br >Donald Campbell of Cornell University, who--with colleagues--used two
<br >giant Earth-based radio dishes to bounce radar signals off the moon.
<br >But thanks to the 20-meter resolution of the new combination of
<br >instruments, the researchers could see that the "ice" signals were
<br >coming from all the wrong places. Instead of being in the permanently
<br >shaded wall of Shackleton crater, for example, they showed up in
<br >well-lit Schomberger crater and many smaller young craters, the team
<br >reports tomorrow in Nature. Such areas are roughened by crater ejecta
<br >and slumping rock. "Right now, the explanation for the [radar signals]
<br >has something to do with reflection between rocks and boulders rather
<br >than ice at the poles," says planetary scientist Bruce Hapke of the
<br >University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.
<p >See: <a href="http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2006/1018/1">http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2006/1018/1</a></blockquote>
There has been a considerable investment in water ( & mineral) radar
detection usually but by orbiters. Reliable detection depends on narrow
band hi intensity, close proximity, detection - Im surprised anyone would
<tt >waste the time using earthbased exploration?</tt>
<br ><tt>Jerry</tt>
<br > </html>
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Date: 19 Oct 2006 21:18:46
From: Rich
Subject: Re: A Dry Moon After All?
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Sam Wormley wrote:
> A Dry Moon After All?
> http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2006/1018/1
>
> By Richard A. Kerr
> ScienceNOW Daily News
> 18 ober 2006
>
> Two new studies fail to find any sign of previously reported ice
> deposits cached in the deep chill of the moon's shadows. Much of NASA's
> planned scientific exploration is geared to the search for lunar ice,
> which astronauts could drink and convert to rocket fuel, but now it
> appears that nothing short of a dedicated rover mission--as yet
> unplanned--can settle the question.
>
> Radar signals bounced off the moon in 1996 by the orbiting Clementine
> spacecraft hinted at massive ice deposits in craters near the moon's
> south pole, parts of which never see the sun. Presumably, water
> delivered by impacting comets over the eons could have made its way to
> these 80 degree kelvin (80K) cold traps and been preserved as ice just
> beneath the surface of the loose soil.
>
> These ice signatures seemed to be confirmed by planetary scientist
> Donald Campbell of Cornell University, who--with colleagues--used two
> giant Earth-based radio dishes to bounce radar signals off the moon.
> But thanks to the 20-meter resolution of the new combination of
> instruments, the researchers could see that the "ice" signals were
> coming from all the wrong places. Instead of being in the permanently
> shaded wall of Shackleton crater, for example, they showed up in
> well-lit Schomberger crater and many smaller young craters, the team
> reports tomorrow in Nature. Such areas are roughened by crater ejecta
> and slumping rock. "Right now, the explanation for the [radar signals]
> has something to do with reflection between rocks and boulders rather
> than ice at the poles," says planetary scientist Bruce Hapke of the
> University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.
>
> See: http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2006/1018/1
A dry Moon and a dead Mars. Build Project Orion or face certain
extinction.
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Date: 20 Oct 2006 12:01:44
From: canopus56
Subject: Re: A Dry Moon After All?
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Sam Wormley wrote:
> A Dry Moon After All?
> http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2006/1018/1
Just want to point out that this article and others -
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/06/campbell.lunarice.html
do not say that there is no lunar ice. It says that prior radar
studies gave a false positive for the presence of ice. That Cornell
article states in part:
"'There is always the possibility that concentrated deposits exist in a
few of the shadowed locations not visible to radars on Earth,' he
added. 'But any current planning for landers or bases at the lunar
poles should not count on this.'"
The Sciencenow article concludes -
"[B]ut now it appears that nothing short of a dedicated rover
mission--as yet unplanned--can settle the question. . . . . William
Feldman of the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, who led
the Lunar Prospector investigation. 'You have to go there in a rover.
That's hard, especially if it's 80K[elvin in the sunless crater holes
at the poles].'"
Guess we'll still just have to go and look to make sure.
- Canopus56
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