23 pointsby thm5 hours ago5 comments
  • rich_sasha3 hours ago
    SpaceX in a nutshell: simultaneously going to the moon and crashing.
  • auspiv3 hours ago
    which would make it the 37th+ spacecraft to hit the moon

    (most S-IVB rocket stages and Lunar Module ascent stages impacted the Moon - not tracked individually on that page)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Spacecraft_that_impac...

  • jrmg4 hours ago
    Will we be able to get pictures of this?

    I presume that if the answer is ‘yes’ we will do so, and I’d like to see some!

    • simondotau3 hours ago
      The answer is no. Hubble's visible-light resolution is about 0.05 arcseconds, which translates to 90 metres per pixel, far too large to make out anything that's "merely" bus sized. An imager would need to in orbit around the moon to have any reasonable chance.

      It seems like they're hoping to detect the plume of dust caused by the collision, however.

      • NetMageSCW3 hours ago
        The crater created by the impact with the dust throw around it will be bigger.
      • garaetjjte3 hours ago
        ...but there's a imager in orbit around the moon, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
    • dylan6043 hours ago
      Multiple lunar orbiters will be passing overhead at some point. They will produce images of the after effects that can be used in a before/after comparison. But the crash will(was??) not be televised or live streamed which is probably more along what you are asking.
  • noiv3 hours ago
    [flagged]
  • altmanaltman4 hours ago
    The memes write themselves
    • simondotau4 hours ago
      Astronaut 1: “Wait, the lunar landing system is just gravity?”

      Astronaut 2: “Always has been.”