I hope that someone at NASA realizes that no matter how successful the data analysis portion of the LCROSS experiment proves to be, they really dropped the ball here. NASA finally engaged the public in a meaningful way, built up expectations, and then failed to deliver. When you promise the people a spectacle, you should first deliver a spectacle, and then do the science in the background. I know there seems to be no good answer. If NASA doesn't promote the missions, the public loses interest and politicians sense they can cut funding without repercussions. But if NASA oversells a mission and then fails to deliver on the promise of spectacular imagery, then the public is disappointed and the overall program loses credibility. Let's hope that significant amounts of water vapor will be discovered in the invisible plume to make it all worthwhile.
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