Water Found On The Moon. The Pentagon announced on December 3, 1996 that data acquired by the Clementine spacecraft indicates that there is ice in the bottom of a crater on the Moon. Located on the Moon's South pole it was discovered with radar data and although it is never lit by the sun you may view an image of the area.
The Deep Space Program Science Experiment (DSPSE), the first of a series of Clementine technology demonstrations jointly sponsored by the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ), launched in early 1994. Its principal objective is to space qualify lightweight imaging sensors and component technologies for the next generation of Department of Defense (DoD) spacecraft. The Clementine mission uses the Moon, a near-Earth asteroid, and the spacecraft's Interstage Adapter (ISA) as targets to demonstrate lightweight component and sensor performance. As a secondary mission, Clementine returns valuable data of interest to the international civilian scientific sector. It represents a new class of small, low cost, and highly capable spacecraft that fully embrace emerging lightweight technologies to enable a series of long-duration deep space missions.
The BMDO assigned responsibility for the Clementine spacecraft design, manufacture, integration, and mission execution to the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) provided lightweight imaging sensors developed under the sponsorship of BMDO. Clementine launched on a Titan IIG expendable launch vehicle from Vandenburg Air Force Base into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in January 1994. During its two month orbit of the Moon it caputured 1.8 million images of the Moons surface.
The Clementine mission demonstrates and validates BMDO's lightweight technologies with a spaceflight mission. It evaluates long-term space environmental effects on advanced components; and tests detection and acquisition capabilities at realistic closing velocities using celestial bodies as targets. Another key objective is to use BMDO technologies for scientific purposes. The mission also demonstrates the benefits of a streamlined management approach to meet cost and schedule constraints.
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