Nov 13, 2009, 17:04 GMT
Washington - Significant amounts of water were found in a crater on the moon in an experiment that crashed a rocket into the lunar surface last month, NASA scientists said Friday.
Scientists have long suspected that measurements of hydrogen around the moon indicated trace amounts of ice and data from other spacecraft last month showed small amounts of water across the moon's surface.
But the findings by the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) experiment prove that water is even more abundant in the moon's craters than expected, unlocking a new chapter in the history of lunar science, NASA officials said.
The water kicked up by the rocket's impact could fill about a dozen 8-litre buckets, said project scientist Anthony Colaprete.
The dramatic experiment last month crashed the LCROSS spacecraft into the moon, sending a huge plume of dust 10 kilometres above the surface to gather data about ice that was suspected to be hidden in the perpetually dark lunar craters.
Major telescopes around the world were aimed at the Cabeus crater on the moon's south pole to capture data from the dust plume.
NASA scientists said that it is possible for frozen water to have remained in the moon's craters for billions of years, because the bottoms of the craters are never reached by sunlight and protect any ice from evaporation into the thin lunar atmosphere.
The LCROSS mission and its companion Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter satellite are designed to prepare for a return by humans to the moon, determining where conditions might be most conducive to establish long-term bases.
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