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The National Aeronautics and Space Agency (Pot, for its acronym in English), announced this Monday that, for the first time, Sunlit water has been discovered on the surface of the Moon.
“This discovery indicates that water may be distributed over the lunar surface, and it is not limited to cold and shady places“They explained from the institution in a statement.
NASA had announced days ago that this Monday, after 1:00 p.m. in Chile, it would report a new discovery regarding the natural satellite that orbits the Earth.
This new finding was thanks to Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (Sofia), built thanks to the efforts of NASA and the German Aerospace Center.
Sofia is a Boeing 747 modified to carry a 2.5 meter reflecting telescope. It flies at an altitude of about 13 kilometers and its first observation dates from May 2010.
From NASA they detailed that scientists from the observatory discovered “water molecules (H2O) in the Clavius crater, one of the largest visible from Earth, located in the southern hemisphere of the Moon ”.
Previous explorations had discovered some form of hydrogen, but due to the complications of remoteness, it was not possible to distinguish between water and hydroxyl, its chemical relative.
“We had hints that H2O, the familiar water we know, might be present on the sunlit side of the Moon. Now we know it’s there. This discovery challenges our understanding of the lunar surface and raises intriguing questions about resources relevant to deep space exploration, “he said. Paul Hertz, director of the Astrophysics Division in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
At the location, the data indicate that there is water in concentrations of 100 to 412 parts per million, which would be equivalent to a container with about 350 ml in a cubic meter of lunar soil. In comparison, the Sahara desert located in Africa has about 100 times more water.
The research, which was published in the journal Nature astronomy is framed within the mission Sagebrush, which seeks to take the first woman and the next man to lunar territory, in 2024. With this they prepare for the next great leap: the arrival of man on Mars in 2030.
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