NASA is to announce an “exciting” new discovery about the Moon.

The space agency revealed few details of the discovery but said it “contributes to NASA’s efforts to learn about the Moon in support of deep space exploration.”

The discovery has come from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, also known as Sofia, it said.

Sofia, the world’s largest airborne observatory, is a modified 747 that flies high in the atmosphere to provide its nearly nine foot telescope with a clear view of the universe and objects in our solar system.

Flying above 99 per cent of the atmosphere’s obscuring water vapor at up to 45,000 ft, Sofia “observes in infrared wavelengths and can pick up phenomenon impossible to see with visible light.” NASA said.

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It has been operating since 2010, and has already made a number of discoveries about the universe, including heat pouring out of Jupiter’s interior through holes in its clouds. It has also peered through the dense dust clouds of the Messier 82 galaxy to catch a glimpse of tens of thousands of stars forming.

Read more: Evening Standard