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Ice on Earth's moon?

Pentagon to report findings

December 2, 1996
Web posted at: 7:30 p.m. EST (2415 GMT)

moon

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Ice has been discovered in the south pole region of Earth's moon, according to NASA's analysis of data from a U.S. probe sent there in 1994, sources said.

NASA's analysis of the terrain in that region of the moon led to the conclusion by NASA scientists and Defense Department officials, sources said. The Pentagon planned to announce the discovery at a news conference Tuesday.



CNN ON-AIR Ice on the Moon?
Pentagon News Conference
Tuesday 1:30 p.m. EST

The probe, known as "Clementine," was sent to the moon in January 1994 and has been sending data back to scientists since. The program is funded by the Pentagon's Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, and is monitored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

The presence of ice indicates to scientists that microbial life forms on the moon might be more likely than previously thought, and that it may be easier to sustain human colonies on the moon that once believed.

Six visits to the moon by Apollo spacecraft turned up no known evidence of life there. Twelve men have walked on the moon's surface.

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