US spacecraft accidently found ice on moon in 1994

On January 25, 1994, the US spacecraft Clementine launched from California on a mission to test new technologies and study the Moon and an asteroid. The spacecraft, a component of the Strategic Defense Initiative, successfully sent back over 1.6 million digital images of the lunar surface, including the polar regions, during its five-day orbit around the Moon.

One of the most significant discoveries was made in the shadowed craters at the Moon's south pole, where no sunlight ever reaches. Clementine's data indicated the presence of ice in these craters, though it was not the primary focus of the mission. This finding, made in 1994, suggested a potential source of water for future lunar missions, as water can be broken down into oxygen and hydrogen for life support and propulsion.

Unfortunately, Clementine's mission was cut short when a computer problem caused a thruster to fire, rendering the spacecraft uncontrollable. It then entered a heliocentric orbit and was last heard from in May 1994, though it was briefly reactivated for a few months between 1995.