You may recall that a month or so ago, NASA crashed a spacecraft into the lunar surface, near the Moon's south pole. The intent was to kick up a lot of dust, and to see if there was any water in it.
Boy, was there.
Today, NASA announced the results of the mission, called Lcross. The impact dug a crater estimated to be 60 to 100 feet wide. And the ejecta thrown out of that crater contained at least 24 gallons of water.
This is very, very good news for the possibility of a permanent lunar base. Here's what it means:
- We don't have to take up all the water we need to sustain life. We can find it there. Water is heavy, so taking less is a huge advantage.
- There is the potential of growing our own food on the Moon, in greenhouses.
- Water can be broken down into hydrogen and oxygen, which makes great rocket fuel. In other words, we could launch a rocket to the moon, then refill the tanks once we're there, for further exploration of the solar system.