NASA/JPL Ambassador, Jerry Hilburn, will present "NASA's LCROSS Mission - The Search for Water on the Moon" at the October 21st Program Meeting.  The mission of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) is to search for water on the moon. Early in the morning of October 9th, NASA is sending a rocket crashing into the moon and creating a crater by throwing tons of debris, and potentially water ice and vapor, above the lunar surface. These materials will be analyzed for the presence of hydrated minerals which will tell researchers whether water is there or not. For more information on LCROSS, please visit http://lcross.arc.nasa.gov/mission.htm.

Jerry Hilburn is an active member in the San Diego Astronomy Association. His interests include tracking PHA’s, Exosolar data collection, and teaching newcomers to the field of  Astronomy. Jerry has created a Web site to show the work of fellow imagers at the San Diego Astronomy Association, which can be seen at http://aisig.sdaa.org. As a parent of two, budding scientist Jerry feels that the most important message we can send to children is that there is great opportunity in the future of space exploration, and that they must prepare now for that future by learning, questioning, and exploring the space sciences. To learn more about Jerry, please visit, http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/ambassador/profiles/Jerry_Hilburn.htm.