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The Moon was long believed to be a very arid star, but in 2008 researchers discovered water molecules within magma brought in by astronauts from the Apollo missions – AFP / Archives
Good news for astronauts: There is more water than is believed on the Moon, trapped in the form of ice in a multitude of microcraters, a potential resource for future space missions, according to two studies published on Monday (26).
The Moon was long believed to be a very arid star, but in 2008 researchers discovered water molecules within magma brought back by astronauts from the Apollo missions.
It is cold water, trapped at the bottom of large craters that are continuously in the dark, near the poles, where temperatures are extremely low.
A study published in Nature Astronomy reveals a multitude of microcraters with icy water in the background. They are called “cold traps”.
“Imagine yourself on the Moon, near one of its poles: you would see a myriad of little shadows that fill the surface; most of them are smaller than a coin. Each would be extremely cold, enough to contain ice “, describes Paul Hayne, from the department of astrophysics at the University of Colorado, United States.
His team used data from two instruments on NASA’s lunar reconnaissance orbiter, LRO. By combining these measurements with 3D models, they were able to reproduce the size and distribution of the shadows, on scales less than one millimeter.
There would be the same temperature as the large craters: around -160 ° C. But there is much more: “there are tens of billions, while the largest are a few hundred”, Paul Hayne details.
So that the total surface of the water on the Moon would cover 40,000 km2, of which 60% would be at the South Pole, “which suggests that the water is more dispersed on the Moon than previously believed,” explains the researcher. to AFP.
– Asteroids –
Another study, also published in Nature Astronomy, provides chemical proof that it is molecular water.
The aerial telescope of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) provided new data, thanks to observing the Moon at a more precise wavelength than before: 6 microns instead of 3. And, for the first time, the researchers were able to differentiate The H2O Molecule (the chemical formula of water) of another chemical compound (hydroxyl, OH) with which it appears mixed.
Where does this water come from? Probably due to the fall of asteroids that collided with the Moon billions of years ago. The same thing that is believed to have happened to Earth. The water molecules expelled during the fall of these bodies would have fallen to the bottom of these craters, where they were “trapped forever” by the cold, explains Francis Rocard, a solar system specialist at the National Center for Space Studies (CNES).
If mining techniques are developed, this will represent a potential resource for future space missions, especially the future Lunar Gateway mini-station.
For future manned missions to Mars, for example, it would be possible to “take off from Earth, make a stop at the ‘service station’ that will be the Lunar Portal, from where probes would be sent to the lunar surface to collect water and thus supply the crew that makes the trip to Mars ”, adds Francis Rocard, who did not participate in the studies.
“This would reduce the cost of the program, because it is cheaper than drawing water from the earth’s surface,” explains the French astrophysicist, noting that the trip to Mars lasts six months.
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