5 March 1998 CONTACT: Karen Rugg, 202-543-1900 (Washington, DC)
-- March 5, 1998 -- The National Space Society (NSS) said today
that general media and public response to NASA's announcement of
evidence from the Lunar Prospector orbiter that water ice exists
at the north and south poles of the Moon has been muted. "At the
least, today's news confirms there are many surprises still
awaiting us in our solar system, and that they can be as close
as our own backyard," said Ms. Pat Dasch, executive director for
the NSS. "International media are giving this news an extremely
high profile; we still seem to need to catch on to its
significance here in the U.S." The finding of water ice
validates the idea of "living off the land" through the use of
"in-situ" materials (materials that are "in place"). This is a
core concept in proposals to send humans to Mars, with its
atmosphere. In the Moon's case, the water ice that has been
discovered would offer both water for human consumption, and
oxygen and hydrogen to produce f