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Water on the Moon?
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Space Walker ![]() ![]()
Joined: Tue Sep 15, 2009 11:59 pm
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No, the recent discovery was the result of studying the data from the M3 instrument. It's only later that they took a look at data from Cassini, etc and re-interpreted them in light of the new data.
Prior to the M3 data, nobody had realized Cassini saw water on the Moon. They even said so in their press conference. Give credit where it's due. |
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Space Station Member ![]() ![]()
Joined: Sun Dec 30, 2007 6:16 pm
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What about the possiblity of water on Mercury? It gets more solar wind, so if water is formed from solar hydrogen reacting with rock...
Hmmm.... how many volatiles could be implanted on Mercury by the solar wind? |
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Space Station Commander ![]() ![]()
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2003 9:22 pm
Posts: 844 Location: New York, NY ![]() |
one of the conclusions from this study (if you read the paper on the M3 data where they announce the discovery) is that the same process should occur on all airless bodies. so yes mercury should have water. as to other volatiles, it is extremely unlikely that anything else could be formed via the same method. the only reason you get water/hydroxyl is because most rocks have a lot of oxygen in them. rocks generally don't have nitrogen, carbon, etc so it is very implausible that ammonia or methane or similar would form.
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Joined: Wed May 21, 2008 4:21 pm
Posts: 74 Location: Baltimore, MD ![]() |
Pooua wrote: TerraMrs wrote: even if LCROSS itself can't distinguish those lines (which i'm sure it can), HST keck etc will all have spectroscopic capabilities I read once that HST cannot be used for Moon observations, though I vaguely recall that it was, once. How do you account for the fact that previous missions have failed to detect any trace of water on Moon? I have this nagging suspicion that no one will pick up a conclusive signal for water this time, either. HST can be used for lunar viewing, but it doesn't have sufficient resolution at the necessary 'shutter speeds' to image Apollo hardware. HST is in fact part of the observation plan for the LCROSS impact. http://lcross.arc.nasa.gov _________________ Emory Stagmer LCROSS FSW Lead Engineer Bass/12string/windsynth for Ezekiel's Wheel "We can lick gravity, but the paperwork is overwhelming" -- Werner Von Braun "It's all fun and games until the potato chips get loose." (said of the ISS by Gizmodo on space.com) "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. A journey of a hundred thousand miles begins with lots of flames, noise and smoke!" -- Emory Stagmer |
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Joined: Mon May 31, 2004 9:47 pm
Posts: 827 Location: Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) - capital of Israel! ![]() |
So when will we send a lander to mars to see exactly how much water there is? Is there one being planned?
_________________ “Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” -Anonymous |
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Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2003 9:22 pm
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there's a lot of water on mars, i think we have a pretty good idea from the orbital satellites exactly how much there is. the real question is whether there are organic molecules in the places where there used to be liquid water. mars science laboratory or whatever that mission is called now should have the capability to detect them too.
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Joined: Mon May 31, 2004 9:47 pm
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TerraMrs wrote: there's a lot of water on mars, i think we have a pretty good idea from the orbital satellites exactly how much there is. the real question is whether there are organic molecules in the places where there used to be liquid water. mars science laboratory or whatever that mission is called now should have the capability to detect them too. In other words, the question is now, how easy will it be to get at the water? _________________ “Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” -Anonymous |
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Space Station Commander ![]() ![]()
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2003 9:22 pm
Posts: 844 Location: New York, NY ![]() |
no we know it's easy to get at. we have direct observations of near-100% pure ice in some relatively new martian impact craters, as well as know of ice deposits at the poles, water in the atmosphere, and even observed frost forming in the soil near phoenix. so the question is what else OTHER than water there is.
_________________ Cornell 2010- Applied and Engineering Physics Software Developer Also, check out my fractals |
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Joined: Mon May 31, 2004 9:47 pm
Posts: 827 Location: Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) - capital of Israel! ![]() |
I'm sorry, I said mars. I meant the moon (Earth's moon, that is). Will sending a lander help there?
_________________ “Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” -Anonymous |
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Joined: Thu Oct 29, 2009 12:24 pm
Posts: 2 Location: Central Florida, USA ![]() |
Now you know the next step is to colonize the moon. It is more feasible then ever with a large quantity of hydrogen.
_________________ Regards, Tibor Toth Success in all your future endeavors! |
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