The telescope on the space agency plane demonstrated what it had never seen before: water molecules were found in the bright, sunny part of the moon.

American scientists have found new evidence that there is water on the moon: Traces of water molecules have been found on the surface of the celestial body, as well as areas where water may have been permanently preserved in the form of ice. The studies of the two research groups Nature astronomy published in the scientific journal.

In the first study, a group led by Casey Honniball, a scientist at the University of Hawaii, analyzed data from Sofia (Infrared Stratosphere Astronomical Observatory). Sofia is a flying telescope developed from a Boeing 747 aircraft by the United States Space Agency, NASA, and the German Center for Space Research (DLR). The researchers found clues to a water molecule by examining the (and sunny) Clavius ​​crater on the southern part of the moon. These were assumed to be predominantly conserved on the surface in glass droplets or spaces between debris resulting from meteorite impacts. Scientists assume that water molecules are more common in areas near the Arctic than in other regions near the lunar equator.

The group of scientists who conducted the second study, led by Paul Hayne, a scientist at the University of Colorado, specifically investigated craters, cracks and smaller areas where water ice could occur. Using a probe and theoretical models from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, they looked for so-called cold traps, that is, permanently shaded areas where water ice could be conserved due to constant cold. In addition to the impact craters, these areas include smaller areas that are constantly protected from the sun’s rays.

According to the research, there is an area of ​​about 40,000 square kilometers on the moon in constant shadow. This is twice the size of other studies. In theory, there could be water ice in these regions. Most of these areas are expected to be located in the arctic regions of the celestial body, sixty percent of them in the southern hemisphere. “If we imagine that we are standing on the moon near one of the Arctic, we would see shadows everywhere. These small shaded areas can be filled with ice,” Hayne said. One such area, experts say, is the Shackleton Crater in Antarctica, which is more than 4 kilometers wide and more than 20 kilometers in diameter. Much of the crater is in shadow forever.

For a long time, it was considered that the Moon was completely dry, but for many years, scientific evidence has accumulated that there may be more water on the Moon than previously thought. As early as 1994, a NASA probe called Clementine found traces of water in shaded craters. Ten years ago, the LCROSS Lunar Mission revealed the presence of icy water in one of the eternally shadowed craters at the south pole of the celestial body. The existence of water reservoirs would be of utmost importance for a better understanding of the Moon, especially in the construction of a manned lunar base.

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