N A S A - First launch on new moon mission

Nearly 40 years after humans first set foot on the lunar surface, NASA is gearing up to go back with the planned launch today of two unmanned scouts, the robotic vanguard for the first U.S. return to the moon in a decade.

An Atlas 5 rocket is poised to launch the two probes, a powerful lunar orbiter and a smaller spacecraft that will hunt for water ice by crashing into the moon, at about 5:12 p.m. EDT (2112 GMT) today from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The mission, NASA hopes, will lay the foundation for its plan to return astronauts to the moon by 2020.

"We're getting ready to take longer strides. To leave the shallows, once again, and step into deeper waters of what President Kennedy called the new ocean of space," said Todd May, manager for NASA's Lunar Precursor Robotic Program. "The first island we plan to explore is the moon itself, our nearest neighbor."

The $583 million mission has been delayed since October 2008 and was slated to launch on Wednesday. But NASA opted to delay the flight by one more day to allow the space shuttle Endeavour to try and launch after a hydrogen gas leak thwarted its initial attempt. The leak reappeared and the shuttle remains on Earth at the nearby Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

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[fatcockify]

go

[flamenite45]

O.o

[www41WorldUSAcom]

NASA---"First Launch On New Moon Mission"

[josh71111]

@MultiIPwnage The only thing good about the moon is that we could set up a space station there. Then when we send people to mars they can land on the moon to refuel.

[MultiIPwnage]

@josh71111

We are as Soon as we go to the moon NASA says we will head for mars

[josh71111]

The moon is useless. I say we melt the ice on mars and live there.

[ShuttleFilms]

Indeed

[ShadowWolf401]

And it will be a good start to get us to Mars

[gbwehner1]

yeah going to the moon rocks we need to live there.