Question 1

True or false: LCROSS was a crewed mission that landed two astronauts on the lunar surface.

Accepted Answer

False. LCROSS was an unmanned robotic mission. It consisted of a shepherding spacecraft and a Centaur upper stage that impacted the Moon.

Question 2

True or false: LCROSS was originally designed to search for life on the Moon.

Accepted Answer

False. LCROSS's primary goal was to detect water ice and other volatiles, not life. No mission has found evidence of life on the Moon.

Question 3

True or false: LCROSS used a spent rocket stage as an impactor to create the debris plume.

Accepted Answer

True. The Centaur upper stage, after launching the spacecraft, was guided to impact the Moon, with the shepherding spacecraft observing the plume.

Question 4

True or false: LCROSS discovered water ice in a permanently shadowed crater on the Moon.

Accepted Answer

True. In 2009, LCROSS impacted the Cabeus crater, kicking up water vapor and ice, confirming lunar water in shadowed regions for the first time.

Question 5

True or false: The LCROSS mission was launched together with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Accepted Answer

True. LCROSS launched as a secondary payload with LRO in June 2009, sharing the same Atlas V rocket to the Moon.

Question 6

True or false: LCROSS detected large amounts of gold and platinum in the lunar soil.

Accepted Answer

False. LCROSS found water, carbon dioxide, and other volatiles, but no precious metals. This myth likely stems from confusion with asteroid mining concepts.

Question 7

True or false: LCROSS found evidence of liquid water lakes beneath the Moon's surface.

Accepted Answer

False. LCROSS detected only trace amounts of water ice and vapor in the debris plume, not liquid water lakes, which are unlikely on the airless Moon.

Question 8

True or false: The LCROSS impact plume was visible from Earth with amateur telescopes.

Accepted Answer

True. Though faint, the plume was observed by some ground-based telescopes, but it was much smaller and dimmer than initially predicted by NASA.

LCROSS Trivia Questions