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chemical composition of the Moon's entire
surface. Lunar Prospector detected large
localized magnetic fields in the lunar
crust, identified rich pockets of several
elements, and returned data that seems to
indicate large concentrations of hydrogen
at both lunar poles, suggesting the
presence of water ice. .....The Lunar Prospector mission
originally was scheduled to end sometime
in July 1999, when it would run out of
fuel and randomly impact the lunar
surface. However, some innovative
scientists came up with a plan to direct
the spacecraft to impact the surface of
the Moon inside a permanently shadowed
crater near the lunar south pole. The
concept was that the impact could free up
to 40 pounds of water vapor that may be
detectable from ground and space based
observatories. A positive detection of
water vapor would provide definitive
proof of what scientists have long
suspected -- the presence of water ice in
the lunar polar regions.
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