Dayton's Blog: A pimple on the ass of the Internet.

On Friday, NASA will "bomb the Moon." In reality, they're planning to drive a used-up rocket motor from the LCROSS satellite into the Moon so that they can study the resulting ejecta for signs of water trapped beneath the lunar surface. Cool, huh?

According to this newsbit from SciFiWire.com, you can watch the whole thing live on NASA TV (assuming you don't have a telescope powerful enough to watch the whole thing "for real":

SciFiWire.com: How you can watch NASA bomb the moon

I figure the Moon had it coming, the prick.

Found this online. Once again, The Onion rules:


(Click to enlarge.)

"The Eagle has landed."

If you're following the recreations which are unfolding in "real time," then you know that Neil Armstrong isn't due to step off the landing pad for several hours yet. Still:

40 years ago today:



HERE MEN FROM THE PLANET EARTH
FIRST SET FOOT UPON THE MOON
JULY 1969 A.D.
WE CAME IN PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND

Okay, this is totally frikkin' cool.

If you're on Twitter, follow these three IDs:

@AP11_CAPCOM
@AP11_SPACECRAFT
@AP11_EAGLE

The first two are the only ones "talking" right now, as they recreate conversations between Houston and the Apollo 11 crew on their way to the Moon. @AP11_EAGLE will, of course, come into play once we reach the comparable window of time when the Eagle lunar lander separates from the Command Module and begins its descent toward the Sea of Tranquility.

The Twitter bit is part of a larger campaign being put on by the JFK Presidential Library and Museum. The "live feed" and other Apollo goodness can be found at We Choose the Moon as they celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Moon Landing.

Read more about it here.

Fun stuff!

....pause for respectful reflection, for this is a very somber week in the annals of NASA history.

I'm ashamed to say I forgot to note that yesterday marked the 42nd anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire, which took the lives of astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chafee.

Today is the 23rd anniversary of the space shuttle Challenger's explosion during take-off, which killed astronauts Dick Scobee, Michael Smith, Judith Resnik, Ellison Onizuka, Ron McNair, Greg Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe.

And it's not over yet, as Sunday will mark the 6th anniversary of the loss of the shutle Columbia, which broke up during re-entry, killing astronauts Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark, and Ilan Ramon.

Of course, we also have and will commemorate happier occasions. Among many achievements of varying scope, this past Christmas heralded the 40th anniversary of Apollo 8's circumnavigation of the Moon, and this coming July and December will bring with them the 40th anniversaries of the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 Moon landings.

Still, we must remember (and hopefully learn from) the tragedies, for such sacrifices also pave the road to triumph.

Christmas Eve, 1968: Apollo 8, carrying astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders, is the first manned spacecraft to orbit the Moon. In addition to providing the first pictures of the entire Earth as seen from space, the crew also takes one of the most awe-inspiring, enduring photographs of the Space Age, which quickly was given the name "Earthrise."



"And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, and a Merry Christmas to all of you, all of you on the good Earth." -- Frank Borman, Commander, Apollo 8, December 24, 1968

HERE MEN FROM THE PLANET EARTH
FIRST SET FOOT UPON THE MOON
JULY 1969 A.D.
WE CAME IN PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND

If you follow the space program, this week on the calendar is always a sad one.

Yesterday marked the 41st anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire, which took the lives of astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chafee.

Today marks the 22nd anniversary of the space shuttle Challenger's explosion during take-off, which killed astronauts Dick Scobee, Michael Smith, Judith Resnik, Ellison Onizuka, Ron McNair, Greg Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe.

Friday will be the 5th anniversary of the loss of the shutle Columbia, which broke up during re-entry, killing astronauts Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark, and Ilan Ramon.

While Apollo 1 occurred before I was born, I remember with startling clarity where I was during both of the shuttle accidents. I was in school at Quantico, Virginia when Challenger exploded, and Kevin called me the morning Columbia was lost, after which I spent the rest of the day watching the news reports.

On a happier commemorative note for NASA, the organization celebrates its 50th birthday this year, and Thursday will mark the 50th anniversary of the United States' first artificial satellite, Explorer 1, launched in response to Sputnik 1, which was launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957.

More than a little bittersweet this week, of course.