The water ice is likely a result of meteoritic and cometary bombardment . Although the lunar samples returned by the Apollo missions suggested that the Moon was bone dry, the Clementine result sparked the controversy and hope that water ice might still be found - holding out the tantalizing possibility that a substantial reservoir of lunar water could be used to support human exploration . Above is a mosaic of Clementine images of the cratered terrain surrounding the Moon's North pole . Surprisingly, Lunar Prospector's data indicates that the North polar region contains about twice as much ice as the South. As Lunar Prospector's mission continues, further data will help determine more precisely the amount and distribution of the water ice.
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