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Written by Jean-Marc Perreault
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Saturday, 05 July 2008 20:55 |
 Recent headlines have announced a raging controversy among scientists about whether there is actually water ice in the permanently shadowed craters near the lunar poles. Because these permanently shadowed regions are extremely cold (~100K) water ice is expected to be stable there. If water is present, it will dramatically reduce the cost of a lunar base. The Lunar Crater Observing and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission is intended to test for this water by impacting the lunar surface with its empty rocket upper stage, and looking for water in the ejected plume.
At issue is the evidence for water ice from neutron counts and radar observations of the polar regions. In the mid-1990s, Earth-based radar observations of the polar regions detected areas of higher circular polarization ratio (CPR). This is the ratio of the reflected radar signal having the same circular polarization as the incident beam to the reflected signal having the opposite polarization. |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 02 August 2008 04:20 )
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