NASA’s LCROSS probe (Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite) smashed into the moon earlier today, much to the chagrin of Internet petitioners and various other morons.
The idiocy runs too rich and too deep for me to even find individual quotations to clip from the madness; it seems like every sentence is as ill-informed and misguided as the last. Suffice it to say that NASA is referred to as a group of “imperialists… without regard for ecosystems or indigenous peoples.” It’s unclear which “indigenous peoples” the protesters were more worried about: moon rocks or moon dust. Certainly, there’s not much else on the moon to protect.
What there might be is frozen water underneath the satellite’s surface. Along with the exciting possibility of the moon having possibly sustained life at some point, these polar ice reserves would provide an important source of oxygen and, possibly, rocket fuel for future moonbases and lunar settlements. In other words, the probe will determine just how close the dream of a long-term settlement on the moon may be.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not packing my bags just yet. Moonbases are a long way off, and even if they opened a resort up there today I wouldn’t be rushing onto a spaceplane (the scenery really isn’t much to write home to Earth about, and I hear the weather’s awful this time of year). But the sheer scientific possibilities of it – the adventure – the raw achievement we’re talking about – is staggering. At this point, how much more completely can we exert our dominance over the universe around us? Evolution’s been kind to man, and we should take a moment to bask in it, that’s all. Cheer up, all – we own the moon.
And we didn’t even have to take it from anybody, which is more than we can say about most of man’s achievements.
Oh – and speaking of extraterrestrial places that could support life: Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, may be capable of supporting life. That is, the moon has the potential to support, not just microorganisms like bacteria, but more complicated lifeforms like plants and animals. Richard Greenberg, a researcher at the University of Arizona, has found that Europa’s surface ice changes and replenishes relatively quickly – the top layer is a relatively young 50 million years old. By Greenberg’s estimation, this means enough oxygen reaches Europa’s subterranean oceans to support all kinds of macroorganisms. The scientists are quick to point out that this doesn’t mean there is life on the large moon – just that the conditions for potential life exist, which is a very different thing. Still, the discovery of life-sustaining amounts of oxygen elsewhere in the solar system alone is pretty exciting.
See? Mind-boggling implications of scientific progress. What do you have to say to that, Internet?
Hmm. Right. Still crazy.
Life is extremely resilient and adaptable. I would not be surprised if, in the not-too-distant future, some “Selenite” type of civilization is discovered deep within the bowels of the moon.