NASA: Lunar pole-shot plume shows up in pictures

NASA chiefs have insisted that their recent mission to crash a pair of spacecraft into the eternally-dark crater deeps of the lunar south pole - which seemed at first look to have produced underwhelming results - was in fact a "smashing success", with definite evidence of a debris plume detected. Three separate visual images …

[Anonymous Coward]

Looks Airbrushed

I watched it on NASA TV. I just saw someone twiddle the Gamma knob by accident... oh and a high-five fail

[Anonymous Coward]

The Moon is made of tougher stuff

Come on, use your noodle. The moon is made of cheese, right? I ain't no science expert, but it stands to reason if you throw a brick at a cheese it'll either bounce off or just sink in with little more than a 'shlopp' sound.

Who seriously expected a dust cloud to rise? Perhaps if it was Parmesan a few flakes might fly off, but obviously it isn't made of that as all the previous meteors would have cracked the whole damn moon in half aeons ago. So I don't know what cheese it's made of, but I *so* know that it isn't going to make dust clouds any time soon.

[Anonymous Coward]

Hmmmm

Looks like it hit a stony cliff side, most of the plume material would be vaporised spacecraft.

Oops

[Anonymous Coward]

rubbish

another piece of the solar system polluted, hooray

[Secretgeek]

Hmm.

It actually looks a quite incongrous against the lunar surface. A bit like a bad photoshop smudge. Not that I'm saying someone's stuck it on the picture to cover up a massive fail or anything, that's just what it looks like.

To be honest I'm quite happy for them to make shit up as long as it keeps us going into space. I'm, just, young enough to still hope for my ticket when we decide to leave this rock.

[Andus McCoatover]

Miles high??

The UK Telegraph reports it was only 0,6 miles high. Godalmighty, that's less distance to my local pub. And I can do that in ten smegging minutes. Bit more coming back, natch.

Mind, the missus can jump more than that on Earth when I come home 'Brahms and Lizt'. Maybe gravity's less here in Finland?

And they needed a sodding rocket? Put a pub on the moon§, with my ol' gal running it*, THEN they'd see "ejecta" (Snick, Snick - who thinks of these words?)

§ First priority, I'd think..

(*pretty-please, NASA)

[Anonymous Coward]

Not a failure

Anything we learn from this is a success. The fact that it did other than what we expected it to, is, while not as spectacular, very interesting from a scientific point of view.

[thefutureboy]

@DarkNerd

Ha ha ha, I saw that high five fail as well. Thoroughly entertaining!

The bloke who blanked the high-fiver just seemed to pack his bag and go home. Obviously doesn't get paid overtime.

[ian 22]

Brilliant NASA!

You are the dust beneath my wings!

[Vlad]

Nobel prize for Moon-bomber!

How ironic that Brrrrack Obama was awarded a Nobel peace prize on the same day that his country bombed the moon. What has the moon ever done to them? Perhaps the 'searching for water' story is just a cover-up - they're really looking for oil.

[Field Marshal Von Krakenfart]

@Vlad

Sssshh! That's where 'the Greys' have their secret lunar base...

Back in a minute, there's a low flying helicopter outside, we don't get many of them around here

<your session will terminate in 10 minutes due to inactivity>

<your session will terminate in 5 minutes due to inactivity>

<your session will terminate in 1 minutes due to inactivity>

<session terminated>

[Anonymous Coward]

Lunar H2O

Why is NASA really seeking water on the Moon?

see:

http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009/10/21/water-on-the-moon/