What happens when the act of observing changes the very nature of what is being observed?\u00a0 What happens when Science transcends the boundaries of Politics?\u00a0 What happens when Man decides to play God?\u00a0<\/p>\n
These questions troubled me as I flicked through some less-frequented pages in the local daily.\u00a0 So I decided to Google it, to find out more.\u00a0 Turns out, it was all true !!!<\/p>\n
NASA did <\/em>intend to crash a probe<\/a> into the Moon in its quest to hunt for water.\u00a0 And, Denmark was <\/em>really planning to assert claim<\/a> on the Arctic!<\/p>\n Space.com: NASA\u2019s next mission to Moon will not merely orbit the gray satellite, but crash two vehicles into its South Pole to hunt for water ice, the space agency said Monday.<\/p>\n Set to launch with LRO in October 2008, the $73 million Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) is a bare-bones spacecraft designed to use cameras and spectrometers to watch its 4,409-pound (2,000-kilogram) upper stage slam into hydrogen-rich Shackleton Crater, mission managers said.\u00a0 The 1,940-pound (880-kilogram) LCROSS probe will fly through the resulting plume and use its instruments to scan for water while taking photographs, then – 15 minutes after the upper stage booster\u2019s impact – the \u201cshepherding\u201d satellite will also crash into the crater floor, Andrews said.<\/p>\n \u2026 LCROSS mission managers expect their crash-destined duo to carve a Moon crater 16 feet (4.8 meters) deep, about 100 feet (30 meters) wide and toss up about 2.2-million pounds (1,000 metric tons) of lunar material.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n CapeTimes: A Danish expedition to the Arctic will map the sea depths north of Greenland which could allow Denmark to assert claims on the North Pole that the Russians have been keen to grasp, Denmark said yesterday.\u00a0 This may enable Denmark to prove that the Lomonossov Ridge, an underwater mountain chain that extends from Greenland to Siberia, is an extension of Greenland and lay claim to its rights in a region believed to contain important hydrocarbon mineral deposits.<\/p>\n The US Geological Survey says the Arctic holds a quarter of the planet\u2019s yet untapped oil and gas reserves\u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Needless to say, I am disappointed.\u00a0 Not that my being disappointed will change the course of either of these two events.\u00a0 But, I am <\/em>disappointed.<\/p>\n Like many young boys, my adoloscent dreams involved adventure and excitement\u2026 I wanted to grow up to be Indiana Jones\u2026 go to the Antarctica on a National Geographic expedition\u2026 join NASA as an astro physicist!\u00a0 Now, I was having second thoughts.<\/p>\n If I were working for NASA today, would I condone this \u201cexperiment\u201d?\u00a0 Certainly not.\u00a0 What right do we have to alter the geography of something so cosmic in nature as the Moon?\u00a0 And, even if some of us feel like debating it a bit, who gave the United States and NASA the right to decide on behalf of the entire planet<\/em>?\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cCrashing a probe\u201d doesn\u2019t even sound remotely like it imbibes the values that science has cherished for centuries.\u00a0 And, if this is allowed, what stops Russia, or even India, from causing a nuclear explosion on Saturn, just to see the effects <\/em>it causes?!<\/p>\n And then,\u00a0 there\u2019s the issue of the Arctic.\u00a0 Agreed, there is some serious money to be made from all the oil under the ice sheets.\u00a0 But, the North Pole and the South Pole are the last possible places left on Earth, not yet spoilt by man!\u00a0 What will come next?\u00a0 Billboards of Shell en route the Arctic?!<\/p>\n I believe it was Einstein who once remarked that \u201cGod does not play dice with the Universe\u201d.\u00a0 Evidently, Man has a mind of his own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What happens when the act of observing changes the very nature of what is being observed? What happens when Science transcends the boundaries of Politics? What happens when Man decides to play God? These questions troubled me as I flicked through some less-frequented pages in the local daily. So I decided to Google it, to find out more. 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\nNASA Adds Moon Crashing Probes to LRO Mission<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nDanish Arctic bid to dispute Russian claim<\/strong><\/p>\n