Scientists Launch Rocket into the Moon to Find Water
By crashing an object into the Moon, researchers hope to observe lunar material ejected from the impact and determine if it contains ice.
By Rachel Swansburg
Ingeniously, by using part of the rocket itself as the impactor, scientists make room for a separate spacecraft—one that follows a few minutes behind, flies through the ejected material to analyze its contents, and hurriedly sends the data back to Earth before smashing into the Moon itself.
