Nasa discovers 'significant amount' of water on the moon

Nasa discovers 'significant amount' of water on the moon. Nasa has found 'a significant amount' of water inside a crater on the Moon in a discovery that could pave the way for the first manned lunar base.

The agency announced that last month's audacious attempt to smash two spacecraft into the Moon's rocky surface to find ice was a major success.

The £49million bombing raid threw up a mile-high plume of dust - which included chunks of ice locked away in a deep crater at the lunar south pole. The bottom of the crater had not seen sunlight for billions of years.

Impact: This Nasa image shows the flash of light as the rocket struck the lunar surface last month. Scientists today revealed they found a 'significant' amount of water in the debris

The revelation may bring closer the day when mankind creates a permanent lunar base, using the water buried in the rocks to drink and generate hydrogen fuel.

A spokesman for Nasa said last night: 'The discovery-opens a new chapter in our understanding of the Moon.'

There were fears that last month's experiment had failed when the collision of the two spacecraft failed to produce the expected six-mile-high cloud of dust. Live pictures relayed from the Moon showed no sign of an impact, even though the crafts crashed as planned.

But yesterday, Nasa experts who studied the data said instruments trained on the impact saw a significant amount of water vapour.

Dr Anthony Colaprete, from NASA's Ames Research Centre, said: 'Indeed, yes, we found water. And we didn't find just a little bit, we found a significant amount. We are ecstatic.'

Michael Wargo, chief lunar scientist at Nasa headquarters in Washington, added: 'We're unlocking the mysteries of our nearest neighbour and by extension the solar system.

'It turns out the moon harbours many secrets, and LCROSS has added a new layer to our understanding.'

Space enthusiasts in California watched the mission live last month

The LCROSS mission, which took place on October 9, was watched by millions across the globe live on the internet.

One rocket slammed into the Cabeus crater, near the moon's southern pole, at around 5,600mph, and was followed four minutes later by a spacecraft equipped with cameras to record the impact.

Over the last decade, scientists have found some hints of underground ice on the moon's poles, but this is the best evidence yet.

The discovery is expected to have major implications for the future of lunar exploration, and a ready supply of water could facilitate lunar bases.

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who in 1969 made his historic Apollo 11 moonwalk with Neil Armstrong, was pleased to hear the latest discovery, but still believes the U.S. should focus on colonizing Mars.

'People will overreact to this news and say, 'Let's have a water rush to the moon,"' Aldrin said. 'It doesn't justify that.'

Mission scientists said it would take more time to tease out what else was kicked up in the moon dust.

This is the first image of the moon taken from the satellite on its approach last month. Two Nasa spacecraft then barrelled towards the moon at twice the speed of a bullet

( dailymail.co.uk )