In less than two weeks, a NASA satellite is scheduled to slam into the moon on purpose.

A 2-ton piece of equipment the size of a school bus, known as the impactor, is expected to bore a 13-foot hole into the lunar surface and kick up a plume of dust 6 miles high. A few minutes later, an unmanned part, about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle, is programmed to fly through the debris, recording and transmitting data back to Earth before smashing into the moon as well.

NASA hopes to determine whether the moon has water, which could be used as a resource for future astronauts

"We have never actually sent a spacecraft to the polar regions of the moon," said Jennifer Heldmann, coordinator of the satellite's observation campaign for NASA.

The impact is expected to be visible for only a few seconds around 4:30 a.m. Arizona time on Friday, Oct. 9. And you'll need at least a 10-inch telescope to see anything.

If you have no telescope and would rather sleep in, don't worry.

Plenty of professional and amateur astronomers are getting up early in hopes of capturing the event on video.

"This is something you don't normally get the opportunity to see," said Adam Block, program coordinator at the Mount Lemmon Sky Center near Tucson.

The 36-year-old plans to use a 24-inch telescope to watch the impact and will have his video recorder ready when the $79 million Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, known as LCROSS for short, smashes into the moon.

If all goes as planned, the spacecraft will reveal more about the moon's composition and makeup, including whether water could be present on the south pole.

Finding water is important if astronauts ever want to establish a human outpost there, because water can be used to manufacture rocket fuel.

Scientists have long believed the moon harbors water. Digging beneath the surface enables them to find out more about the moon's composition.

Arizona connections

The satellite is an example of how scientists use creative methods to answer scientific questions, said Faith Vilas, director of the MMT Observatory.

The observatory, 30 miles south of Tucson, is one of 21 places designated as an official observing site by NASA.

Scientists there will view the event through a 6.5-meter telescope and will analyze the debris plume for signs of water.

An Arizona State University-operated camera aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter also will take photos of the moon sites before and after impact.

This is the first time in a decade that the United States has targeted a satellite at the moon.

'98 mission came up short

NASA sent the Lunar Prospector to the moon in 1998. Astronomers had hoped to capture the resulting plume on camera. But they saw nothing when it hit the surface.

They are hoping for better results this time.

The LCROSS is a much bigger impactor than the Lunar Prospector. NASA officials are confident they will be able to capture valuable information from the collision, but whether they see the plume depends on whether the sky is clear that morning.

Randy Peterson of Scottsdale plans to watch through a 16-inch telescope at the Gilbert Rotary Centennial Observatory near Greenfield and Guadalupe roads.

A member of the East ValleyAstronomy Club, the 61-year-old, semiretired middle manager is excited about possibly catching something on video.

"Whether I get anything or not, I don't know," he said. "But nothing ventured, nothing gained."