Watch the moondust fly

Loren, Bay Area, California — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 00:41:11 GMT

Shiny!

Watch the moondust fly

Bill Johnstone, New York, New York — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 13:19:41 GMT

Not true. A hundred or so years ago, some nuns saw a huge plume on the moon. It created a crater was caused by an asteroid.

Watch the moondust fly

John Doe, Seattle, Wash. — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 13:36:26 GMT

ya it's da bling-bling

Watch the moondust fly

Glen Chenier, Allen, TX — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 13:59:01 GMT

"Researchers say it represents the first lunar impact and resulting dust cloud ever spotted from Earth."

May not be the first.

A few years ago I came across a published lunar photo that showed a puff of moondust that was suspected to be caused by an impact. From what I remember in the text caption, the dust was noticed only after the photo was studied, ie the dust was not the reason for taking the photo. It might have been on the web, or might have been a print photo in Astronomy Magazine, can't remember details other than the fact of the impact dust.

Watch the moondust fly

Wade Whitlock, Aberdeen, MD — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 16:22:50 GMT

Whoosh, Bang!

One wonders how well the thing was deconned prior to launch. Considering the survival by bacteria found in the Surveyor camera and the critters that survived the Columbia breakup there might be some biocontamination. Given a hell of a tough environment and lots of radiation we could be setting the stage for the evolution of Selenite civilization, given enough time. God Gambit, anyone?

I understand E. coli was found in the Rover assembly cleanroom. Might make definite identification of native vs immigrant life interesting, especially if the panspermia types had it right! Who says you can't go home!

Watch the moondust fly

Larry Hughes — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 19:04:25 GMT

It would have been much cheaper to hit a golf ball from the International space station or the Mir space station.

Watch the moondust fly

Frank Glover — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 17:12:46 GMT

It would matter if this was Mars or Europa (Galileo was self-destructed into Jupiter to prevent the small chance of an impact on the latter)or maybe even Titan, but no one worries about biologically contaminating (or back contamination from) Earth's Moon anymore.

It is, and always has been dead, as far as can be told, and if any Earth bacteria can live (not merely survive dormantly within spacecraft structure) and multiply there (astoundingly unlikely, under those ultra-dry, vacuum, extreme hot/cold temprature, solar/cosmic radiation conditions), they're welcome to it...

As for 'cheaper,' if a golf ball could do all the things SMART-1 did before its finale (and if human strength could hit one from LEO to the Moon), you'd be right.