LCross Recap

This morning it was cloudy here in Connecticut, so instead of bringing out the telescope I watched the live NASA feed of the moon impact.

There I was, eyes inches from my laptop screen staring intently just below the left dimple of the crater where the impact would occur. I felt like it was Christmas and I was six years old. But when the announcer stated that the first probe had hit the surface, there was visually no change in the image. I couldn’t see a thing! Did anyone else watch the live feed? Did anyone else see anything noteworthy?

Additionally, I was disappointed in the feed from the probe… granted… it’s a probe zinging towards the moon at epic speeds, every pound of equipment launched costs an additional $11,729*, and the moon is about 240,000 miles away… but this was a key moment for NASA! A huge amount of interest was generated in this project and the public demanded awesomeness! So… couldn’t we have got a better camera up there? I was expecting it to be at least close to Skype quality, but instead the refresh rate was about 1 image per second. Slowly zooming into GoogleMoon is actually more exciting.

Adding to the lack of quality was the paltry color of the moon, but I don’t blame this one on Nasa.

I was talking to Sander this morning and we noted how funny it is that, of the recent NASA missions, this one got so much press. In Sander’s words: “seriously? smashing a probe into the moon is the space equivalent of hitting the broad side of a barn.”

*Trends in price per pound to orbit

5 thoughts on “LCross Recap

  • 10/9/2009 at 11:20 am
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    at the risk of sounding pedantic, it’s NASA, as in an acronym.

    Also, “this one got some much press”?

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  • 10/9/2009 at 4:09 pm
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    My boss noted the irony of Obama getting the Nobel Peace Prize on the same day that we bomb the moon.

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  • 10/9/2009 at 10:08 pm
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    I also think to expect skype quality from a camera hurtling through space several hundred thousand miles away is kinda crazy thinking. I’m not saying I wouldnt have liked a better view of it, the fact that they even had a camera that worked up there is a feat for NASA. They lose more unmanned spacecraft to unintentional crashes than Sander eats donuts*.

    * at last count Sander eats 10^5 Donuts per year.

    Reply

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