Asteroid 24 Themis Becomes Water Target

The first-time observation was made on 24 Themis, a huge rock that orbits millions of miles out from the Sun, a 200-kilometer wide asteroid that sits halfway between Mars and Jupiter. Several scientists have held that asteroid may contain water as was evidenced in the observation, and some have envisioned the possibility of using the water to make steam for rocket propulsion fill-ups years ago. NASA is now considering more unmanned and future manned missions to the asteroids.

More on the water frost-covered asteroid find from Popular Science, National Geographic, The Times of London, the BBC, MSNBC/AP, and Space Daily.