Goals: Clementine was to test sensors and spacecraft components under extended exposure to the space environment and to make scientific observations of the Moon and the near-Earth asteroid 1620 Geographos.
Accomplishments: The mission succeeded in its lunar objectives, but a malfunction caused cancellation of the asteroid flyby. Clementine provided our first complete look at the lunar surface, including the poles. And it found evidence suggesting that a crater at the south pole, with a floor that is permanently shielded from the Sun, harbors water ice. The spacecraft obtained multi-spectral imaging of the entire lunar surface, assessed the surface mineralogy, and obtained altimetry from 60°N to 60°S latitude and gravity data for the near side.
Clementine was the first U.S. lunar mission in more than two decades.
