Ice Is More Valuable Than Gold on the Moon

It’s been all over the news this week: The LCROSS Lunar Impact. But why is it so important to know whether or not there is water on the moon? There are several reasons why knowing this would be exciting.

First, if there is water on the moon we would be able to not only learn so much more about the moon, but also about our own planet. Our current knowledge is at a crossroads, and we could choose the path that leads to so many other possibilities regarding our relationship in the universe.

Also, it costs a tremendous amount of money to transport water back and forth from the moon to earth. Finding natural resources like this is critical. Wouldn’t it be nice to know if it would just be there when we got there? That is convenience at its best.

Can you even imagine the possibilities if there was an abundant supply of water on the moon? I’m wondering the impact that could have on the shortage of drinking water on this planet. Perhaps I’m jumping the gun a bit with that thought.

As physicist Michio Kaku, who was part of this whole project said, “Ice is more valuable than gold on the moon.”

The crazy thing to me is that the area they blew up to test for water ice is a very specific place on a crater where it has been dark for billions of years. Yes, billions with a B. Wow.

The mission itself was successful in that the amount of data collected was even more than originally expected. I’m happy to hear that since this particular mission cost $79 million dollars.

If there is water on the moon after all, all space travel from now on will be very different. I can hear the conversation now when my son Henry gets older. I’ll say “I remember back when we didn’t know there was water on the moon.” He’ll say, “Mom, you are so old.” Yeah, well I also remember life before DVRs and HD television too.

To anyone who isn’t a true Science nut, this video is boring and will put you to sleep faster than counting sheep. However, if you are a Science lover, you’ll really dig this. It’s hard to believe this footage is from a place that is 5.6 million miles away from here.

I pulled this great quote off of the http://lcross.arc.nasa.gov/ site. I love this!

“Many years ago the great British explorer George Mallory, who was to die on Mount Everest, was asked why did he want to climb it. He said, ’Because it was there.’ Well, space is there, and we’re going to climb it, and the Moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there.”
President John F. Kennedy
Address at the Rice University on the Space Effort
September 12, 1962