That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for…fish.

November 13, 2009  |  Today's Headlines

There’s much to be said about major events that changed our world forever, only to find out some decades later we were wrong. Up until recently, NASA and the other countries trying to catch up to the US were under the impression the Moon was a completely dry environment.

Now as this article suggests, new data caused by an in space collision in October, shows there’s an abundance of water on the Moon.

What I find interesting in today’s headlines is how a collision caused the discovery, a collision I venture to guess cost NASA millions. Sure, this “collision” will most definitely lead to further funding, but I see it as a perfect example of where PR did its job.

Shortly after NASA’s LCROSS probe slammed into a crater in the polar region of the Moon, the Agency held a press conference to announce that it had obtained significant amounts of data from the collision.

Today, NASA held a press conference, stayed true to its word, and discussed the data. Critics of the NASA space program were silenced when the NASA data promised delivered a monsoon to the science community. No pun intended.

Sure, NASA and every Apollo mission didn’t uncover this “on purpose,” despite many efforts and studies, but when it did find the water it reported it quickly and in detail.

While the scientific community scratches their heads, I think the PR community should applaud NASA on a great crisis communication situation that not only promised and delivered but provided a major contribution to science.