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Colonize the Moon? NASA to Scope It Out

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff

Posted Jun 13, 2009 2:14 PM CDT

(Newser) – NASA will launch a mission Wednesday to gather information about how humans might someday colonize the moon, the Los Angeles Times reports. A robotic orbiter will provide detailed maps of the topography and first-of-their kind peeks inside craters where ice might be hiding. “We're going to provide NASA with what is needed to get human beings back to the moon and to stay there for an extended duration,” said one mission official.

A second spacecraft will punch a giant crater in the moon so scientists can poke around the resulting plume, again in a hunt for frozen water. “This should be spectacular,” said a project scientist. “It should be a very visible impact from Earth” for amateur astronomers. That comes in about 4 months. The new topographical maps will help determine where the crater goes.

A NASA launch.
A NASA launch.   (AP Photo)
An artist's rendering of a Japanese lunar probe.
An artist's rendering of a Japanese lunar probe.   (AP Photo)
The Moon up close.
The Moon up close.   (AP Photo)
A slightly distorted gibbous moon intersecting Earth's atmosphere photographed by an Expedition 19 crew member on the International Space Station.
A slightly distorted gibbous moon intersecting Earth's atmosphere photographed by an Expedition 19 crew member on the International Space Station.   (AP Photo)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 35 comments
Doctor-Zaius
Jun 14, 2009 12:57 PM CDT
He fell out of the stupid tree and hit every branch on the way down.
kokuaguy
Jun 13, 2009 11:48 AM CDT
Thanks for leaving us laughing guys. Still waiting for that avatar, raht thaaaang.
Rob
Jun 13, 2009 11:36 AM CDT
Well maybe not. But they might not want to since they would love their “country”, the moon.

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