NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) impact view is seen in this image released on October 9, 2009. Two U.S. spacecraft were crashed into a lunar crater Friday but scientists said it was too early to say whether the mission to search for supplies of water on the Moon had been a success.
(REUTERS/NASA)Photos (1 of 1)
NASA Moon bombing: Did NASA really drop a bomb on the moon?
Although it's more dramatic to say NASA bombed the moon today, they really didn't. We explain why...
By Pete Spotts | 10.09.09
Bomb: an explosive device used to detonate under specific conditions. – Webster’s Dictionary
To those people who may may have been misled by the overuse of the word “bomb” — at The Monitor and elsewhere — to describe NASA’s LCROSS mission:
Nothing exploded, although two spacecraft — one about the size of a bus, the other a subcompact car — did crash on the surface of the moon. For background on the whys and wherefores, you can read more about moon exploration and the reasons for the LCROSS mission here, here, and here, for instance.
How would the moon have felt about it? It’s hard to ask an inanimate, non-sentient object. But using Sir Isaac Newton’s action-reaction law — the one that describes why a rocket moves one direction when its exhaust flows out the back in the opposite direction — researchers estimate that the two collisions combined would have the same effect on the moon that dropping an eyelash in the aisle would have on the speed and direction of a Boeing 747.
In effect, these two human-made objects were artificial meteors. The moon takes hits from natural meteors several times a month. So from the moon’s perspective, it will have gotten tickled a few more times in October than it usually does. The Hunter’s Moon merely became the hunted, briefly.
Was the mission a test bed for space weapons? Don’t laugh, some have suggested this. But this would have yielded nothing the Pentagon doesn’t already know about orbits or depositing objects with precision from space onto the ground. Precision orbits? They already know how to do that with reconnaissance satellites. Dropping things from space? They already can deliver a small cluster of nuclear warheads — each against its own target — with a precision greater than the one LCROSS displayed as it hurtled into the moon.
What the misuse of the word “bomb” reminds us scribes and those charged with keeping our more outlandish prose in check is that words matter. Space geeks who tend to follow these missions clearly realize “bomb” is not a literal description for what’s happening. They may roll their eyeballs at the “hype.” But they generally don’t take it seriously.
Those who don’t follow space-science matters much, however, or who are working their way up through school and are looking for information for that next report or project, might take the image more literally.
In the end, we’re responsible for the words we choose. It’s one thing to accurately describe something and have people misunderstand. Sometimes that can be cured by selecting a different approach to the description. Sometimes the misunderstanding is willful. But it’s something else again to intentionally use words clearly open to misinterpretation, and let the chips fall where they may. (Nice cliche, Pete!)
Be at ease. The moon is very little worse for the wear, no matter how many times you see “bomb” associated with this NASA mission. Here’s hoping folks in my business drop the bomb. Get it?
<< NASA moon bombing: It’s true, but don’t worry | MainComments
2. John Knowles | 10.09.09
It’s a shame we have trashed old mother earth and now we are trashing
the moon.
3. Aephy | 10.09.09
Maybe “bomb” was a little over dramatic but guess what? They still put a big hole on our beloved moon. May not be a big deal because of what it goes through all the time to some, butttt WHAT happens is pure nature. So thats gives man the right to do it themselves? I think not, We are not advanced enough to know the consequences adaqetly. Leave our moon alone, we have plenty of water here!
4. Squire | 10.09.09
That’s not what happened - we were told by many sources that the first impact would be a bomb and the second impact would be a probe behind it passing through the “plume” as it was stated in all cases. What are you talking about “Nothing exploded, although two spacecraft — one about the size of a bus, the other a subcompact car — did crash on the surface of the moon. ” and the references are modifiable…
5. Neil Golden | 10.09.09
The only problem with this mission is that it did not go far enough.
http://digg.com/comedy/Why_We_Should_Blow_Up_The_Moon
Q.E.D.
6. one who cares | 10.09.09
You people should be ashamed of yourself. The moon has been our protector for millions of years, and all you want to do is waste money destroying our constant assurance of having everything stay in tune on a day to day basis. You might have sent our moon and planet into a irreversible dismay.
8. Need Computer Support | 10.09.09
Whatever, there wasn’t any effect on the health of the moon. But my dell laptop is running slow today. Is it the ripple effect of playing that nasa video? Anyways now I would have to contact someone like IT24BY7.com to fix this. Last time they removed the virus, let’s see what it is now.
9. melissa | 10.09.09
They could have spent all that money saving the earth or feeding the poor or stopping the greed. It wasnt necessary and I am tired of it.
10. John Lock | 10.09.09
Okay, to anyone saying “We’re putting a hole in the Moon and ruining it” or “NASA are idiots, they shouldn’t bomb the Moon, who knows what the effects could be”, STOP AND LOOK AT THE MOONS SURFACE ONCE IN AWHILE! IT IS FULL OF CRATERS! The Moon has been hit by meteors ever since the day it was formed! NASA just added another, non-noticeable crater to the bunch! It would take WAY more than just three projectiles to damage the Moon enough to actually DO anything! The every time you see a meteor shower or a falling star, there is a could chance the Moon has been hit! Stop whining and get some facts, instead of just assuming that everything people do is pure evil! A meteor can cause WAY more damage than anything NASA throws up there, and they hit the Moon all the time! TAKE AN EARTH SCIENCE AND HISTORY CLASS! If people didn’t experiment with the universe around them, we’d still be living in the dark ages! Because people experiment and question the world around them, we know a lot more than we did back then! No, the Moon will not be destroyed by NASA, it won’t affect Earth or nature in ANY way, and NO ONE did anything that “Nature” hasn’t done thousands of times!
12. Courtenay | 10.09.09
About “trashing the moon” and “putting a hole in our beloved moon”… the moon regularly gets hit by meteors anyway - that’s where all those craters come from - so it’s not much different from that. (The reason we don’t often get hit by meteors ourselves is that most of them burn up in our atmosphere, which the moon doesn’t have.) Whether or not they’ll learn anything really useful by this exercise, we don’t yet know, but there’s only one way to find out, and that’s to do it…
13. Roman | 10.09.09
Interisting, no explosion, no plume, no nothing. Are we really that incompetent and stupid? More likely, yes.
14. ASHAMED AMERICAN | 10.09.09
When are we going to learn to stop “playing God”??! When it affects our families? Our hometowns?? I am totally outraged.
15. Karen | 10.09.09
I agree with Aephy. Leave our moon alone!! Who or what gives a small group of people the right to destroy something that belongs to the world or the universe??
16. Mike | 10.09.09
When I read comments about “destroying our constant assurance of having everything stay in tune on a day to day basis”, I really worry about the level of intelligence out there. That and “how do you know that the moon is non-sentient?” The same way that I assume a river rock is non-sentient. “They still put a big hole on our beloved moon.” Really, I challenge you to locate it without already knowing where to look.
17. michael hart | 10.09.09
Maybe it’s due to the change in the American administration?
I certainly believe that George W. Bush would have bombed the moon if he thought it necessary for the defense of the United States.
And, apparently, Obama is a bit of a “peace-nik”.
18. dislike. | 10.09.09
it’s so sad how they have found a way to mess up the moon after being screwing up the earth’s resources. i think they should leave the moon alone or at least find a ‘less’ violent and ‘less’ expensive way to find out what they want. besides, earth’s surface is mostly made up of water! we have more than what we need… stop asking for more cause i’m sure, we’ll eventually pollute the moon’s water (if there’s any) like what we did with earth’s.
19. me | 10.09.09
who cares u people make such a big deal over the moon get a life i think there is no problem with this grow up and fuss about something. Space is so beautiful and trying to understand is is more beautiful so they are smart
21. confused in ohio | 10.09.09
if the moon is made of cheese, how can we tell which hole is the new one?
22. Richard | 10.09.09
I’m shocked with your comments. Whether, you or anyone for that matter, has used the word ‘bomb’ wrongly or not isn’t much the question. The question is, what happened on the moon today. NASA had promised that there would be a lot of ‘dust’ rising due to the first impact, and the second instrument would study this ‘dust’ for water particles. If that was the case, did not NASA know anything about the nature of the moon–that moon would never react to such tickling? Are NASA people so naive? Then why did they spend 80 million dollars for nothing? Isn’t that a crime to imagine some impossibility, and later claim that it could not have happened?
So what is the truth? NASA failed to impact the LCROSS on the moon. Something went wrong. Tell as many stories for children as you want–but when all goes well and nothing is seen, and you say Moon’s reactions are like that–no one will believe you.
23. TIM | 10.09.09
WHERE IS THE FOOTAGE OF THE PLUME???????? WHERE IS IT! NO CNN NO NBC NOBODY SHOWING ANYTHING! THEY SAID YOU COULD SEE IT FROM A TELESCOPE… HOW COME KNOW FOOTAGE OF THAT!!!!! HOAX HOAX HOAX HOAX!!!
24. wayne rhyne | 10.09.09
i watched with a very powerfull military sea lens, what i saw was the decent into a dark crater, followed,by a flash.
27. pixie | 10.09.09
this is crazy… im sure there are easier and more tasteful ways of finding out wether there is water particles on the moon such as sending some one there to drill a hole deep enough and collect samples of the soil deep enough and bring it all back…. im sure we will discover absolutely nothing new about the moon…. and also sure we will hear nothing more about it in mainstream media, how many people could we have fed on this planet? we could have used that money 2 benefit human kind in numerous ways ..i.e towards alternative/sustainable resources.
28. Urlywntkno | 10.09.09
agreed… how do we know that the moon is non-sentient? very interesting question
29. Pete Merrill | 10.09.09
Watch the moon bombing at http://bit.ly/17FFOH..And join http://bit.ly/17FFOH for more updates.
30. sharkfin | 10.09.09
It’s a disgraceful waste of money and it goes against all reason to crash objects into the moon, it doesn’t belong to the USA or NASA…they have no right to do this kind of crap.
32. ugh | 10.09.09
Who do NASA think they are by bombing the moon? the moon are something that is of spiritual importance in some cultures. there are people out there who worship the moon, to many it’s not something to be touched, it’s sacred, of essential to the way of life. it is one of the only things that we as humans all, ALL, have the opportunity to appreciate, and yet NASA plan this ‘experiment’ totally ignorant of the significance of that planet, and without even consulting the rest of the world they send bloody rockets over to blows holes in its surface.
33. Bradley | 10.09.09
And to the guy that says all the craters are nature and we can’t do it because we are……… I dunno what guy. anyways If nature had its way we would still be getting killed off and eaten by saber tooth tigers.
We are natures ultimate creation beings w/ the ability to create, preserve, investigate, etc.
What makes you panic is you resorting back to primitive thinking. You should stop that and actually look at the reasons things like this are being done. And pitch in I say thankgod somone is doing somthing because we are quickly outgrowing this planet and options apear to be clear to me. Look for other Habitable options or Overpopulation and the end of the earth and the Humans, Animals and plant life that inhabit it.
34. Debbie | 10.09.09
How much did this cost us??
Can’t we bomb someone else and get our kids out
of the war?
35. niwT | 10.10.09
A lot of money wasn’t spent on “nothing”, as some say. NASA is just trying to see if, there is another place where we can get our water supply, because as greedy beings humans are using up our supply quicker than expected. You cannot “consult the rest of the world” about something like this - was everybody asked if it was a good idea to put people on the Moon? And does it really “go against all reasons to crash objects into the Moon”? There is perfect reason for seeing if there’s water on the Moon (discovery, perhaps?), and objects are crashed into it anyway – meteors. Stop worrying -let Science do its thing - if it hadn’t, we would still be “in the dark ages”.
38. boston.. | 10.10.09
you bombed iraq..you bombed afganistan,,,,you now binladen is not hiding in th moon ,,,,maybe he:s in mars…
40. M. Bacon | 10.10.09
Um…so instead of waiting 504 million dollars why not just hire Bruce Willis to lead a team of diggers. He already saved the planet from destruction by blowing up a rapidly moving meteor. I’m sure he could handle a quick jaunt up to the moon and a quick dig of a few 100m.
41. metu | 10.10.09
do we get a say as to weather we want our taxes used for purposes like this? I think we are supposed to! In my opinion I think most people are tired of all this type of thing and we just want peace and harmony and no more use of weapons for whatever reason
42. metu | 10.10.09
quickly outgrowing this planet? I think we are quickly destroying this planet and everything on it
43. Sally | 10.10.09
overuse of the word “bomb”………. Oh really? I watched the little clip. Pity Stanley Kubrick isn’t still alive, he certainly would have made a better job of it. For such a big-scale circus, their mission room looked pretty amateurish. Aaaaaanyway, one word comes to mind: retribution. God help us.
44. JR | 10.10.09
I’d say buy stock for moon property.. seems like anyone can claim unearthly objects out there.
45. Lisa | 10.10.09
Oh yes, lets go out and in the name of science and pursuit of truth, do what we will to another planet after we’ve done sooooo much good to our own. Habitants of the earth are all doing so well on U.S. soil and other continents that our tax dollars are put to such a “useful” need. We should be so proud of ourselves. What was the reason we need to look for future resources on other planets? Because we have taken such good care of our own in past pursuits of knowledge and truth? Oh yes, this all makes perfect sense. Why would anyone consider questioning the validity of this expense and intelligence behind it all.
47. Realist | 10.10.09
NASA & USA, if there water up there I hope you have found proof, I would like to visit a hotel on the moon some day and look back on planet Earth, it is our destiny and nature to explore,
Either way they just showed renegade countries what could happen if they keep on the road to making Nukes. This is a weapon that is quite powerful if it was to hit a populated or “protected area” say underground bunker, but not radio active.
Also it was a very good and reasonable opportunity & to test it.
48. Marcia Space | 10.10.09
They were trying to see if there was any water (ice) on the Moon, to see if they could build a space station there.
49. Bonnie Blue | 10.10.09
The Moon should be a protected resource for every being on planet Earth, and for every being in the future. It’s not ours to decide it’s fate and use. The moon gives its very existence, whether we define it as life or not, to create our beautiful Earth through its connection and interaction (gravitational pull). We do not need anything more from it except honor and respect. The Earth provides everything we need, if we can figure out how to honor and respect its renewable cycles again. The moon isn’t a planet, it’s a vulnerable part of the Earth process. The moon created the tides, and all life on Earth. We, as Earth’s inhabitants, should call the world together and protect the Moon as a Natural Resource, just as we have protected Yellow Stone, Yosemite, and others from the greedy destruction of mankind. For anyone who thinks the moon needs to give more than what it already gives, I say you should spend a great deal of time outside at night, meditating on the moon, and then return with an answer to your thought. Honestly, what more can you ask for? Have you lost your soul? The Moon is the Moon. Let it be.
50. Nicole | 10.10.09
Wether or not it affected the moon or not, it is just perhaps stupid enough to waste hundreds of millions of dollars just to crash a probe on our beloved moon! I believe that people have a conscience. The world is filled with hungry and povertized people. You call this people from NASA? At least tell them to use their witty heads! If that money was to be used for the necessary, then the world could’ve changed by now. What a simple waste.
53. John Doe | 10.10.09
Can this be a tracking device planted in the moon surface to track the other countries weapons of mass destruction progress?
54. Lauraa | 10.10.09
OK. So the whole we are hurting our moon subject doesn’t really bother me, it would take a LOT more to destroy the moon and im sure that isnt NASA’s intention. The point here is that the world itself is in danger we’r dealing with the whole gloabl warming issues, economics, health problems that are killing people and a bunch of that stuff? Shouldnt we use our money wisely? Nand not just as a country but the world together? Ok, so lets say we find water on the moon.. whats next? lets go live there? I think we should concentrate more on what we have in front of our eyes, the thinks that don’t take billions of money to prove, and let nature b its self. There’s a reason why the moon is what it is the way that it is. Its not a puzzle. Oh guess what i have inside of me? lets leave it alone and work better with what we have here.
55. rtfermin | 10.11.09
I am not opposed to space program, but since the man detonate it first bomb over the Moon, that’s a shame on the human been, I hope the resources future we use to help our people in the planet, first stop the famine, the diseases
56. Reality Check | 10.11.09
I hope they don’t find water there. If they do Dick Chaney will most likely buy the moon bottle the water and the US Government will make it mandatory we buy the water it and drink it !!!!! What is next, they give Obama the Nobel Prize…..oops that already happened !!! Are you kidding me and we are following these guys, what are we thinking, oh we aren’t that’s the problem !! We are all leaving that up to them !!!
57. Ludicrous | 10.11.09
I think there has been a terrible mistake here, someone said there was intelligent life on Earth. The evidence doesn’t support this theory.
58. Mike22 | 10.11.09
Gosh get over it people… I swear I’m so sick of all these people crying over NASA hitting the moon. Go hug a tree and stop with your little theories about this being anything other than what it was, a science experiment.
59. Jamar | 10.11.09
Do you people not recognize that these explosions could have caused the moon’s orbit to be completely screwed up? Not only is that dangerous to the rest of the solar system but it is incredibly dangerous to homeostasis on the Earth here…think about it next time you decide to wanna consider all options on what NASA has actually done.
60. narf | 10.11.09
wow…
the Moon is the controlling gravitational force of our oceans , right??
so WHY put something UNNATURAL up to impact the blessed Moon ?
are we that stupid?
747’s and eyelashes …sure , theory is great but what happens when theory goes to pot?
do we need to be concerned about sending Bus sized objects to impact the Moon at 6000MPH?
i think we do.
61. EnlightenLinks | 10.11.09
“It’s hard to ask an inanimate, non-sentient object.”
What makes you think its not sentient?
62. KK5000 | 10.11.09
Was just passing by reading the article and came across the comments here. I’ll just say that everyone is entitled to their opinion BUT the moon is NOT a planet - It is a NATURAL SATELLITE of PLANET EARTH.
If you don’t know that it is best not to “contribute” to this discussion.
63. Susan | 10.11.09
So bascially tthey spent 180 million to do fek all =/ wen theres a country tht starves … nice 1
66. Emz | 10.11.09
”NASA is just trying to see if, there is another place where we can get our water supply, because as greedy beings humans are using up our supply quicker than expected”
So why not spend all this money on working out how to create better sustainability on THIS planet? Or is this an extreme version of the throw away society? Ok, we have messed up here, let’s move on and mess up somewhere else, rather than try to halt our greedy consumption of the world’s resources?
67. Pam | 10.11.09
OMG, people, calm down! As stated, it wasn’t a bomb at all and things in outer space crash into the moon every day. It was like a golfball hitting a pumpkin. No harm done!
68. SFC, US ARMY | 10.11.09
You all keep justifying it by saying the moon gets hit by meteors all the time. NASA probes are not meteors, they are several tons of GARBAGE!! I don’t know about you but NASA never asked my permission to trash OUR moon.
69. Myrrh3214 | 10.11.09
I find all these comments very interesting, but what I find even more interesting is the failure of folks to detect the subtle nuance of the entire “mission”. At it’s core, the words “bombing the moon”, and the subsequent video showing an object being aimed and targeted on a location as far away as the moon and then hitting it with precision, is a “statement”, and that statement is… “You may have nuclear material, you may launch primitive rockets, you may rattle your sabers fiercely, but at the end of the day, we can destroy you with pin point accuracy”. It was a show of superior technology and a reminder that while they might be progressing, they have a very long way to go. And the choice of words to describe it was deliberate. If it had been otherwise, it would’ve been touted as “a deep lunar probe”. The moon was not harmed, and tides remain constant. It was a salvo over the bows of our potential attackers that says…”you havent got a snowball’s chance in hell”
70. Tom | 10.11.09
We CANNOT destroy the planet. Get it right. Mother Nature has always managed to survive. The meteorite that destroyed the dinosaurs? Earth got over that by creating new species. What you people mean destroying ourselves. Get it straight.
71. someone | 10.11.09
Regardless of all the justification and damage that is or isn’t being done. Half a billion dollars???!!!! That was one of the first things I read on the first link which explains why this mission happened. My God, it appears NASA thinks we are all stupid. Get real and find something more worthy to spend money on!
72. Isabella Miram | 10.11.09
This is insane. First of all, the moon belongs to all earthlings. The USA has no right to ‘bombard’ the lunar surface without th approval of the international community. What if this action can put the moon out o orbit? What if it will have dire consequences? How dare they endanger the earth’s inhabitants. Is’nt it enough that we wage wars against another, destroy the habitat of animals and in general trash the earth, or home?
Now the moon. The money wasted on such things could feed the hungry. Shame on you NASA and shame on the US goverment to allow this.
73. Anonymous | 10.11.09
For what purpose did they spend that kind of money to see if the moon had water? It won’t be enough to support life if it does exist and what would be the purpose of manning the moon at great expense even if there was water enough to do so??? It’s a waste of tax dollars that could be used to fix roads and keep people employed (besides a few rocket scientists that would be making $$$ anyway)
74. WestHoustonGeo | 10.11.09
It is quite clear to me now that ignorance is rampant in this world, especially when it comes to space science.
1. This is far from the first time that the moon has been hit by a space probe. The first were US and Soviet probes in the early sixties. They took photos and transmitted them back just as this one did. Rocket stages and used lunar modules were sent to the surface for seismic experiments. Actually, the moon’s geology (selenology is the correct term) makes orbits around it unstable and everything that goes into orbit around the moon eventually impacts on the surface.
2. The moon is subjected to meteoroid strikes (big and small) constantly, as is the Earth and every other planet or moon in the solar system. That this particular one is man-made means nothing.
3. Those of you wishing to “preserve the moon in its natural state are completely illogical. Who’s going to see? If I land there to look at the “natural state”, I have by definition, destroyed it. What kind of idiocy are you preaching? Leave it alone and don’t even look at it? Since when has any life form ever done anything like that?
4. Unless you can land on and look at the moon the only way to know its composition is experiments like this that throw out the material for direct observation.
5. Idiot arguments like “we need to feed the people instead of launching rockets” ignore the fact that we have spent many billions (far, far more than the space program) to feed the starving poor and it has all been sucked up by corrupt dictators who want those people to starve.
6. Why spend all that money to study the moon? The moon is a planetary body – we live on a planet. If you lived on a mountain, would you dare say that the study of mountains is stupid?
75. Diverting funds | 10.11.09
I get a chuckle every time someone says, “We spent so much money on this and yet we have hunger and poverty and need to get our soldiers out of the war.” Seriously?
I immediately picture some NASA employee bursting into a conference and slapping a folder down on the table.
“Sir!”
“Yes, Jenkins?”
“We’ve been directed to scrap the project and…divert our funds to feeding the hungry, and get our boys out of Iraq.”
“…”
“I’ll get the NASA Anti-Poverty vans ready, along with the space shuttle soldier evac system!”
*Sighs* “Well everyone, guess we can all go home.”
78. NP | 10.12.09
If projects such as this continue future generations may curse our destruction of the Earth and the waste of natural resources, but if they stop then there will probably be very few future generations. Our future on this planet is short for those who see long term.
79. jonmark222 | 10.12.09
“How would the moon have felt about it? It’s hard to ask an inanimate, non-sentient object.”
The moon “an inanimate,non-sentient object” -
What a travesty of poetic imagination. I feel very sorry for you.
80. jonmark222 | 10.12.09
The video of the moon ‘bombing’ was, without doubt, the worst documentary I have ever seen in my entire life. How can you publish stuff like that? (Well, of course it IS the Internet, but still. . .)
Also, why do NASA engineers always wear maroon shirts, the women have pony tails, and there is always a relic with an unruly beard standing somewhere in the picture?
Frankly, I think the whole thing a bit contrived.
82. fringle | 10.12.09
You don’t bomb something to understand it. I my opinion there was something up there they don’t want anyone else to get. There’s a reason that most of the countries in the world now have their own space program. And now NASA has the ability to say to them if you go after it we’ll destroy it before you’ll get it. But just my two cents.
83. LEMN | 10.13.09
I really don’t think it’s that big of deal. People need to quit freaking out over a little hole in the moon. It’s not like NASA is going to blow it up. They know how important the moon is, how it controls all the tidal waves and many more things. Why are’nt we worrying more about the important stuff like how are president is a communist and countries are just waiting to destroy the living daylights out of us.
84. juan dela cruz | 10.13.09
hmmmm. i was wondering if this moon bombing is related to the recent tragic natural disasters in Asia, particularly Philippines. the recent typhoons seems to contain significantly much more water than usual hence the cities that never get flooded is now flooded. the water level even reached the second floor. it was forgiveable if it was 1 typoon only but the second and third one just after a week cause the water level in one area to reach a very tall bridge and completely destroyed it. These things never happened before and its just too damn coincidential that its happening now that they’re touching the moon. Maybe just maybe a small explosion impulse like that has an effect in the typhoon formation. just mayba. damn.
85. Snore | 10.13.09
What is really disgraceful is people who think that the pennies we spend on Space Exploration aren’t worth it.
Our space program has had a wonderful return on investment over its history, and I can’t really think of any other budget line where NASA’s paltry budget (compared to anything else our government does) would have a noticeable impact if we decided to spend that money elsewhere. Especially in foreign aid.
It isn’t like poverty/famine relief dollars have ever done any good. Money is just embezzled by the local authorities, and food shipments are both used as leverage against the needy and destroy local producers, creating a long term problem.
86. Jake Sampson | 10.14.09
Your article is actually quite misleading. On one level you’re correct - technically it wasn’t a bomb, it was a rocket. However anything weighing over a tonne and traveling twice the speed of a bullet that crashes into a designated target to pinpoint accuracy can pretty much be described as a bomb/missile/rocket/explosive - it doesn’t matter too much which words we use, because the result is the same. The footage didn’t show much, but imagine a rocket like this crashing into your hometown! Would it be described as a bomb?
Its like saying the planes that hit the twin towers weren’t missiles - well technically they weren’t, but they had the same devastating consequences.
Not a test for space weaponry? When was the last time any country in the world, to your knowledge, chose a target in space and hit it with pinpoint accuracy? You don’t think NASA, and the US military, would be paying particular attention to how these particular technologies performed?
The word ‘bomb’ is actually quite accurate, because it describes the destructive outcome of this ‘mission’ (whether the motives are scientific or not), and accurately reflects the philosophy, agenda, and arrogance behind the US governments’ space and military programs.
87. Jake Sampson | 10.14.09
Your article is actually quite misleading. On one level you’re correct - technically it wasn’t a bomb, it was a rocket. However anything weighing over a tonne and traveling twice the speed of a bullet that crashes into a designated target to pinpoint accuracy can pretty much be described as a bomb/missile/rocket/explosive - it doesn’t matter too much which words we use, because the result is the same. The footage didn’t show much, but imagine a rocket like this crashing into your hometown! Would it be described as a bomb?
Its like saying the planes that hit the twin towers weren’t missiles - well technically they weren’t, but they had the same devastating consequences.
Not a test for space weaponry? When was the last time any country in the world, to your knowledge, chose a target in space and hit it with pinpoint accuracy? You don’t think NASA, and the US military, would be paying particular attention to how these particular technologies performed?
The word ‘bomb’ is actually quite accurate, because it describes the destructive outcome of this ‘mission’ (whether the motives are scientific or not), and accurately reflects the philosophy, agenda, and arrogance behind the US governments’ space and military programs.
88. james | 10.14.09
look people we need a base somewhere and we need water there would you rather take earth water there and take part of the atmosphere with it because that seems like a bad idea all nasa did was kick up a little dust to see if there is water molecules in the dust its like shooting a huge rock with a bb gun there is hardly a dent and besides earth is to populated and i dont wana see the day when we are forced to kill of half the people on it i would rather just move if you put 100 people in a house they well get sick and die so this is a good thing and could one day save our lives. thank you for reading this
89. Big Cheese | 10.14.09
Truth is, they wanted to stir up the aliens that set up camp their to keep an eye on us. Now we’re gonna see an increase of ufo activity again.
90. denise | 10.14.09
i always find it interesting when authors make opponents seem stupid for their ideas. it’s sort of like watching a bad rap battle. like as though making the best insult gets everyone on your side, and hurts your opponents so deeply. regardless of the ‘words’ and ‘understandings’ the fact of the matter remains, that the human world has decided that its okay to cause damage outside of the earth’s sphere (as if the damage we have done and keep doing here isn’t bad enough). if one takes a giant leap of intuition into what will happen next, given our recent history, i believe it is fairly inevitable that the next thing that ‘bombs’ something outside of earth might well be closer to a bomb (i mean who exactly is going to prevent this?). and quite frankly i do not and never will assent to it, for whatever reason, or however one wants to do it. irresponsible destruction equals nothing good forthcoming if you want to be truthful. if you don’t wish to be truthful, i am sure you can find a million good reasons for why such actions are good.
91. Some New Age Hippie | 10.14.09
I think it’s horrible what they are doing. we dont know everything about our own earth so why even be in space in the first place and the moon also co
92. damayorscronie | 10.14.09
They bombed the moon to destroy ufo evidence so that India would not stumble upon it.
93. Rockstar | 10.15.09
if they drill a hole or do anything like that, the moon will probably break into pieces across the sky and ocean will rise to the highest peaks of the mountains. Trust me i would and should know what would happen. and you should too. they should NOT do ANYTHING to the moon
94. Shylaweesie | 10.15.09
If NASA is tired of hearing us whine about this then stop doing stupid stuff.
If this was such a good thing why weren’t we apprised of it. You know the media is an out of control, raging, rabid dog so if NASA wanted us to know about this, there would have been plenty of publicity opportunities.
It’s about time that Americans are complaining about something other than politics.
95. Mark | 10.15.09
The comments section of this article is a fantastic example of the poor job we’re doing in education.
96. Dominique Taylor | 10.15.09
Is the bombing experiment by NASA for the greater good or is it for some other hidden purpose. If it can help mankind then go right ahead. Is it in sink with Biblical practices or what about hurting some other life force residing on the Dark side of the moon. Just time will tell ? But for now I will reserve my natural comments.
Dominique Taylor
Research Scientist
Trinidad W.I
97. Milhouse | 10.15.09
Apparently, we didn’t learn a single lesson from the documentary, MARS ATTACKS. I hope the Lunites know that it’s just NASA who did this!
100. Jason | 10.20.09
I have not seen the moon since this event. Can someone confirm it is still there?
101. Stephen Cashman | 10.24.09
My God, some of these comments are so ridiculous…
The objections to this moon missions seem to be
1. The moon doesn’t like it
The problem with this is that the moon is not a living being, but is a non-sentient rock orbiting our planet. The moon does not know or care that it has been impacted by a fairly small spacecraft. I am not suggesting that we destroy the moon, but even if we did it would not object - because it is not a live and has no awareness. How do I know this? Based on the behavior of other, earthly rocks, I conclude that rocks as a class are not sentient. I guess it is possible that I am wrong, but if I am then ANYTHING could be sentient. Would you avoid walking on your carpet because you might hurt it?
2. It might destroy the moon
NASA hit the moon with a small slow moving spacecraft (compared against the frequent meteor bombardment) and it is a physical fact that it does not have the energy to do any real damage to the moon or to its orbit.
3. It is a waste of money
Arguably this is true, I personally support space science because I think it is a human duty to understand our world. We may never see any benefit from knowing how the moon works, or what its composition is, but I am curious enough that I want to find out!
4. The US should have consulted other countries
For one I highly doubt many countries would have objected to a harmless moon missions, but even if some did I still think NASA should have gone ahead with it. As long as it makes the information freely available it will help all countries with an interest in space. If a country wants space to be left undisturbed I think that is selfish and unreasonable. If you are not using something it is not fair that you ask no one else use it either, as long as they use it in a mostly harmless way.
No other country asks for international consensus before launching space missions. Many countries have space programs, to list only a few with the ability to launch their own rockets would include China, Europe, India, Japan, France, Russia, and the US.
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1. Mike Franklin | 10.09.09
Did NASA bomb the moon? techically, no. Did NASA do anything at all today? From the viewpoints of most large lenses… and a million small ones, and those watching on TV and the web? No.
This time, there is a huge hole where there should have been a big kaboom and… well, a hole. The science is fairly simple. A lot of mass (the impactors) and a lot of inertia (just under 6,000 mph).
In the words of a small cartoon Martian, ‘The Illudium-Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator has been stolen!’
NASA will have to do better than a few colorized glow pictures to get out of this one.