Slamming Ice Into The Moon?

(MSNBC) A strikingly simple concept would provide efficient water provisions for human outposts and even bases on the moon. The idea is to clobber our already crater-rich neighbor repeatedly with tons of water ice — to establish an “anywhere, anytime” delivery system.

Not only could chucking a payload of water ice to the moon help sustain an expeditionary crew there, the impact would mimic–in experimental form — a comet strike. Therefore, it’s a double-whammy: A science mission wrapped within an exploration capability test mission.

The theory behind the idea is to provide astronauts with ice water “whenever, wherever” on the moon. Although some of the ice would be lost on impact, the majority of it would survive on impact. Future astronauts would be able to “mine” water ice from any location within the crater, saving time and energy.

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