NASA has made a breakthrough in discovering the unexpected on the Earth's moon yesterday, October 21, 2010. Near the south pole of the moon, according to Anthony Colaprete, there are nearly 10 to 13 gallons of water that could possibly be used for any future space explorations; such as a water source for astronauts or even a checkpoint for fuel either to go back to Earth or to go to Mars. (To make fuel out of water you must separate the atoms of a water molecule to make hydrogen and oxygen, from there you can use these components as fuel). Not only did NASA find purified water on the moon but also elements like sodium, silver, calcium, magnesium, and mercury in large amounts via infrared light reflections. NASA has also found other minerals that can only exist in very cold environments that are not found on Earth.
I felt that NASA's discovery is very crucial to the scientific committee of astronomy. Since they have discovered certain minerals on the moon that can never be found on Earth, it opens up countless possible experiments on the moon. Scientists may perhaps be able to produce a new compound (that can only be made on the moon) and bring it back to Earth to improve some aspects of our daily lives. Also, another important part of this discovery is the opening up of exploration to Mars. It takes a lot of fuel and energy to escape Earth on a space shuttle and even more fuel and energy to go to Mars and come back safely. So, by making the moon a "checkpoint for fuel", astronauts can easily escape Earth, refuel on the moon, go to Mars, refuel again on the moon, and then come back home. Unfortunately, this project of taking advantage of the moon's resources must be postponed since Congress and President Obama signed "a compromise on the space agency's future" into law. Nevertheless, this discovery has a major impact on my life because I one day aspire to become an astrophysicist for NASA. It will be my dream to take part of a project of this high caliber.
-Michael Liao Period 4http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/22/science/space/22moon.html?_r=1&ref=science
I felt that NASA's discovery is very crucial to the scientific committee of astronomy. Since they have discovered certain minerals on the moon that can never be found on Earth, it opens up countless possible experiments on the moon. Scientists may perhaps be able to produce a new compound (that can only be made on the moon) and bring it back to Earth to improve some aspects of our daily lives. Also, another important part of this discovery is the opening up of exploration to Mars. It takes a lot of fuel and energy to escape Earth on a space shuttle and even more fuel and energy to go to Mars and come back safely. So, by making the moon a "checkpoint for fuel", astronauts can easily escape Earth, refuel on the moon, go to Mars, refuel again on the moon, and then come back home. Unfortunately, this project of taking advantage of the moon's resources must be postponed since Congress and President Obama signed "a compromise on the space agency's future" into law. Nevertheless, this discovery has a major impact on my life because I one day aspire to become an astrophysicist for NASA. It will be my dream to take part of a project of this high caliber.
-Michael Liao Period 4http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/22/science/space/22moon.html?_r=1&ref=science
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