Hubble zooms in on moon minerals.

[whocares]

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The Hubble Space Telescope has taken a look at the moon to gauge the amount of oxygen-bearing minerals in the lunar soil that could be mined by astronauts and used in a new moon mission.
NASA said Wednesday that the telescope's ultraviolet observations of two Apollo landing sites and an unexplored but geologically intriguing area will help scientists pick the best spots for robot and human exploration. The space agency hopes to return astronauts to the moon by 2018 using Apollolike capsules and rockets made of shuttle parts.

The data also will benefit a lunar reconnaissance spacecraft to be launched in 2008.
NASA scientist Jim Garvin described the August observations as "CSI does the moon through Hubble."
"We're going to try to do forensic science using places on the moon we know, two of the Apollo sites particularly noteworthy for their soils," he said.
The space telescope photographed the landing sites of Apollo 15 and 17. Scientists know from rocks collected by the moonwalkers how much of the mineral ilmenite is present at those locations.

Oxygen could be extracted from ilmenite with relative ease to provide air, water and rocket fuel for astronauts, allowing them to live off the land and helping to drive down exploration costs.

Source: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051020/NEWS06/510200411/1012

Related article from TIME: Is there oxygen on the Moon? (http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1120755,00.html)

Interesting, as said on the articles, mission's costs can be reduced by these discoveries.

[fiveonionbagels]

Until America can afford to respond to national emergencies effectively, this sort of stuff will probably have to go on the back burner.

[Deathmate]

Until America can afford to respond to national emergencies effectively, this sort of stuff will probably have to go on the back burner.


says... you?

[fiveonionbagels]

Yeah, says me.

Since when have the U.S. administration acted in the interests of humanity in general (in our lifetimes anyway).

Missions to the moon would be costly, and risky, in that any scientific developments accomplished, that may yeild profit, are not guaranteed.

After hurricane Katrina, expect a backlash. The American people will not take lightly to having their tax dollars allocated so poorly that in the case of a national disaster they are likely to suffer on a much greater scale than is necessary.

The politicians can now use this as a platform to consolidate American's basic capacity to serve its own populace, which is in a pretty shaky condition right now.

While the moon mission would no doubt be another great leap for mankind, we are in no condition to do so even if the current American administration was interested in improving the lot of humanity in general at the expense of the billions if not trillions of dollars that would need to be allocated to a project like this.

[thesloc]

Since when is "fiveonionbagels" America's financial advisor? :confused:

[TacticalVirus]

So you want to pull money from a program that will be a step forward for mankind because the administration failed to do its job? Money was not the issue behind Katrina, stupidity was.

[vchampionl70]

Missions to the moon would be costly, and risky, in that any scientific developments accomplished, that may yeild profit, are not guaranteed.

Actually, NASA has contributed greatly to the development of technology here on Earth.

Plastics, for one.

VCRs, for two. (I'm not sure how or why.)

Ball point pens that can write upside down!!!!! (Who would want to go without one of those!)

There have been great developments in rocketry.

Satellites, sir? How bout satellites?

[Lost__Cause]

Actually, NASA has contributed greatly to the development of technology here on Earth.

Plastics, for one.

VCRs, for two. (I'm not sure how or why.)

Ball point pens that can write upside down!!!!! (Who would want to go without one of those!)

There have been great developments in rocketry.

Satellites, sir? How bout satellites?

You forgot how NASA has helped in Medical advances down in earth.

[thesloc]

On tha rizzle's muh nizzles. :D

Why don't the other countries send their rockets to the moon..but oh wait...

[vchampionl70]

You forgot how NASA has helped in Medical advances down in earth.

So I did.... Good point!

[whocares]

Until America can afford to respond to national emergencies effectively, this sort of stuff will probably have to go on the back burner.
Yeah, scientifical advances and discoveries should be left out because there were some failures in the prevention of the disaster, not to mention that many people didn't want to leave, even knowing what was coming to their way.

Anyway, I still fail to see why people think that this kind of stuff should be left out... technological advance is as important as security and other stuff, in my opinion.

:ahhh: <--- I love this smilie, LOLZ!!

[Deathmate]

Not to mention that the Katrina disaster was highly exaggerated by the media.

[Jim Colyer]

The idea of mining the moon is still far in the future. I have been disappointed with the Hubble telescope. It has produced books of chaotic, confusing pictures but no comprehensive breakthrough in theory.

ASTONOMY http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=2

JIM COLYER http://www.jimcolyer.com

[fiveonionbagels]

Look, you're saying this like I don't think that America should be spending the money that NASA will need for this.

I'm just saying what the American government is going to do.

Of course scientific development deserves funding, even if we don't know whats going to come out of it, because you can't predict whats going to be discovered.

I'm just saying what IS going to happen.

We can all agree that politicians are interested in their own well being ahead of that of the people right now, and there is no benefit for the politicians in sinking lots of money into something that benefits humanity, and not their bank balances. There are safer, more profitable ways for the American politicians to make money, and until the corrupt American administration is sorted out, this will motivate their decisions.

Plus, Nasa will have its hands full weaponising space. Wait and see.

Oh and by the way, LOVE the way you play down the MASSIVE failure on the part of the American government as regards the hurricane Katrina disaster.

Aside from all the petty sniping, there isn't one decent argument against my point in all these weak posts.

[Secret Squirrel]

I'm not sure the moon missions will be connected to the hurricane the way you think they will be. If we actually ran a fiscally responsible government and had to balance the budget, then there might be some pressure, but since the GOP has decided to forgo being fiscal conservatives and focus on being social conservatives, I see no reason to think they'll cut NASA funding.

[appleb]

Ball point pens that can write upside down!!!!! (Who would want to go without one of those!)

Reminds me of this NASA joke...

When NASA first started sending up astronauts, they quickly discovered that ball-point pens would not work in zero gravity.

To combat this problem, NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 billion developing a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to over 300° C.

The Russians use a pencil.

[Ants InMy Pants]

Reminds me of this NASA joke...

When NASA first started sending up astronauts, they quickly discovered that ball-point pens would not work in zero gravity.

To combat this problem, NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 billion developing a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to over 300° C.

The Russians use a pencil.

damn commies trying to find an easy way out of everything...