Article: NASA having a big blast with moon today

WASHINGTON -- For as long as man has looked up, the moon has inspired romance, poetry and songs. Man also likes blowing things up. Now we get to do both -- in the name of science.

The aim of Friday's deliberate crash of two unmanned NASA spacecraft into the moon is to see if they can kick up some ice. It is the 20th lunar crash, most of them done on purpose, since the Russians first did it 50 years ago last month.

And that doesn't count the eight times we tried and somehow missed the moon or couldn't get off the ground.

For more than a century, the idea of Earthlings taking a swipe at the moon has permeated popular culture. The most enduring image is from the 1902 classic movie, "A Trip to ...

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