Yeah, we’re gonna do it. Stupid moon, all smug and silvery and sneaky, looking down at us all night long. Scientific American’s right. We don’t know *what* could be hiding up there. Let’s just bomb the moon:
The spacecraft will not head straight for the Moon. First it will orbit the Earth a number of times while its precise target is identified. Finally, it will send the missile into the Moon at twice the speed of a bullet on October 8.
The shepherding spacecraft will follow close behind, taking pictures and analysing the ejected debris as it looks for evidence of water. It has just four minutes to do this before it crashes into the Moon itself, producing a spectacular explosion that should be visible in amateur astronomers’ telescopes.
It is a busy time for Moon crashes. Last week Japan’s Kaguya probe collided with the Moon at the end of its own mission.
As part of the same launch, an orbiter went up that’s going to scope out good spots for a colony. Bomb and colonize. Aw, yeah.