The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) will crash into the moon on Friday morning, destroying itself in search of water in the form of ice on the surface of the moon. Four minutes after the Centaur upper stage rocket will hit the Cabeus A crater at 7:30 a.m. on Oct. 9, the Shepherding Spacecraft will make impact. The Centaur will create a plume possibly containing ice that may be visible to some areas on Earth. By traveling through the plume, the Shepherding Spacecraft will be able to analyze the material that was sent flying off of the moon.

“If LCROSS finds water, it may cause NASA to concentrate exploration on the poles and would have some effect on our interpretation of lunar processes,” Senior research associate Peter Thomas, astronomy, said. Three factors can affect the processes at the surface of the Moon: deposition of water from comets, energy radiated from the Sun and impacts from rocky bodies. Comets leave behind water on the moon’s surface, but then the Sun evaporates it. By using a permanently shadowed crater, the LCROSS mission minimizes the Sun’s influence on this process. This allows the team to study the effects of impacts from comets and rocky bodies can be studied in an isolated scenario.

If the amount of water ice is significant, astronauts may one day be able to use it as a supply of drinking water and even as a source of fuel. With the possibility of ice at the poles, these regions would become more favorable for possible future lunar bases that could use the water as a source of hydrogen and oxygen for fuel.

While LCROSS could have a major influence on the future of human space exploration, the mission will not necessarily speed up NASA’s plans to again send manned missions to the moon. It may be difficult to achieve the level of excitement that surrounded the Apollo Program.

Funding is the main force driving the human exploration program. If ice is not present, future expeditions may focus instead on Mars. On the other hand, if ice is found, efforts may be focused on the poles of the moon. As Prof. Don Campbell, astronomy, put it, “We’ve [already] gone there. We should stay.”

Although there is hope for a significant find, some in the scientific community remain skeptical. Even if the right crater is chosen, there is a chance that the energy from the impact will not be large enough to vaporize the water ice in the plume, preventing the detection of any ice actually present.

Since it is coming from a region where Sun light does not reach, reduced visibility may also hinder detection of the plume. Finally, Cabeus A could be the one unlucky crater around that does not contain ice. Because of this, it is a “high risk/high pay-off” mission, according to Campbell.

Despite the skepticism, LCROSS is a relatively easy, direct experiment that may have profound implications for space exploration. Partially due to its low cost (about $79 million — cheap for the field of space exploration), LCROSS will be launched as a companion mission with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).

Regardless of the success of Friday’s mission, LCROSS may put the public eye on the moon once more. Further in the future, it could potentially help mankind set foot on the moon and even beyond.