Quote:In an unprecedented move planned out in NASA's latest lunar mission, the space agency has decided to use some well placed brute force to explore the moon's South Pole by slamming a lunar spacecraft into it.

This rather unconventional method of exploring the moon is a way to test the impactor spacecraft for the Lunar Crater and Observation Sensing Satellite (LCROSS). The aim of the mission is to discover any hidden pockets of hydrogen in the form of frozen water that may have possibly formed in the moon's South Pole region.

It was theorized that the poles of the moon were unique in a way that sunlight doesn't reach the bottom - something similar to Mercury's own poles. Any damage caused by the LCROSS impactor spacecraft would ideally allow Earth-based radar to look into the craters caused by mission.

By examining what's inside these craters, scientists can then get an idea of the early formation of the solar system 3 billion years ago. Even if they don't find any water in the craters, they can still learn much about the distribution of hydrogen on the moon.