Okay, we really haven’t declared war on the Moon, but we are bombing it tomorrow.

At 11:30 AM GMT October 9, the  Lunar CRater Observing and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) will impact the Moon in a crater named Cabeus A in the South Polar region.  The impact will occur at 5,600 MPH, creating a new crater about 1/3rd the size of an American football field.  The resulting plume of debris is expected to extend up to 30 miles from the Lunar surface.

Why are we doing this?  Well, first of all, it’s fun, and secondly, NASA is attempting to see if there is any water or ice crystals mixed in the debris.

While we have been doing some scans of the Moon’s surface that indicate there is ice, an essential element to us building any sort of long-term colony on our planet’s only satellite, we do not have any definitive proof as of yet.  While a return to the Moon has been brought into question as of late, this is something we still need to know if we ever hope to go back there for an extended period.

If you have a telescope at home that lens surface is 10″ or more, you will be able to watch it happen, but somehow I doubt that is very many of you.  Gizmodo made a handy guide of how you can watch this event for yourself:

• Attend one of the many public events organized by observatories throughout the country. You can see a list of events here.
• Watch NASA TV, which will broadcast the event.
• Use Slooh, the site that lets you control telescopes around the world in your PJs. Go to this page here to get more information about it.

The event will take place at 7:31AM Eastern/4:31AM Pacific.  Below is a map of the bombing site, click for a super-sized version.

Now, here’s hoping the Moon doesn’t retaliate!