NASA to crash space probe into moon

NASA plans to crash a space probe into the moon in 2009. The collision, so violent it will be visible on Earth through a telescope, should excavate a hole about a third the size of a football field and hurl a plume of debris into space.

The moon crash is a quest for ice, as water is the key ingredient for future human outposts on the moon.

After the crash, the mother ship that released the probe will fly through the plume and look for traces of water ice or vapor. The lunar spacecraft will target the south pole, releasing its SUV-sized impactor probe in January 2009 on a suicide plunge at about 5,600 miles per hour toward a frozen crater believed to contain hidden ice.

If ice is found, it could be melted and the water used to help make rocket fuel or oxygen.

Thanks Jonah.

Via CNN.