NASA confirms the presence of water in sunlit areas of the Moon’s surface

NASA discovery on the Moon: The US space agency NASA has found water on the surface of the Moon! In an unprecedented announcement Monday, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has confirmed that its Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy or SOFIA has found water in the sunlit areas of the Moon. This implies that water on the Moon could be distributed over its entire surface, rather than being confined to cool, shady areas as previously thought. Water molecules have been detected in Clavius ​​crater. The crater is located in the southern hemisphere of the Moon and is among the largest craters visible from Earth.

Researchers had previously detected the presence of hydrogen on the lunar surface, but weren’t sure whether it was in the form of water (H20) or its close relative hydroxyl (OH). Based on the data for this location, water at a concentration of 100 to 412 parts per million, which is roughly equivalent to a 12-ounce bottle of water, has been found in one cubic meter of soil spread over the lunar surface. To put this in context, the Sahara desert contains 100 times the water detected by SOFIA on the Moon. However, the discovery remains key because it raises questions about the creation of water and its sustenance in the harsh airless surface conditions of the Moon.

The director of the Division of Astrophysics of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Paul Herts, said that with this discovery, questions are also being raised about the resources needed for deep space exploration.

Why water in space is important

In addition to the water in space being important for research and a gateway to more information about space, water is a key ingredient for life, and in deep space exploration, its presence can be precious. Today, astronauts who go into space have to carry all the resources, including food and water, to sustain them during their visit to outer space. If this water is determined to be fit for human use, astronauts would have to carry less water with them during missions, allowing more valuable equipment to be carried into outer space.

NASA plans to send the first woman and the next man to the lunar surface as part of its Artemis program in 2024, and hopes to learn more about the Moon’s water resources, including their suitability for human use, before the mission. . is thrown. The agency hopes to help establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon by the end of the decade.

Previous research in the area

NASA has said that the results given by SOFIA are based on years of previous research in this area. In 1969, when the Apollo astronauts returned from the Moon, the lunar surface was thought to be completely dry.

In later missions different discoveries began to emerge. NASA’s lunar crater detection and observation satellite had confirmed the presence of ice in the craters around the Moon’s poles that were perpetually in shadow. Additionally, several spacecraft, such as NASA’s Cassini and ESA and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chandrayaan-1, had found the presence of hydration in sunnier regions. However, these missions had not been able to confirm whether the hydration was due to the presence of H20 or OH.

Why is the discovery surprising?

Casey Honniball, the lead author who published the results in the journal Nature Astronomy, said that without the presence of a thick atmosphere like Earth’s, the water in the sunlit areas of the Moon should have been lost to space, but it is there. This means that there is something that is causing the generation of the water and something that is trapping it there, he said.

There could be many forces that cause the creation of water on the Moon. Some of these, as stipulated by NASA, are the rain of micrometeorites that carry water over the surface of the Moon, leading to the water reservoir there. The space agency has also thought about a two-step possibility for the presence and persistence of water on the surface of the Moon.The solar wind from the Sun could cause hydrogen to reach the surface of the Moon and a chemical reaction with minerals could be established. They contain oxygen in the soil shut down to create hydroxyl. At the same time, radiation from micrometeorite bombardment could transform that hydroxyl into water.

Storing water on the lunar surface is also an intriguing aspect. NASA stipulates that there could be small bead-like structures in the ground formed by high temperatures due to the impacts of micrometeorites, and water could get trapped in these structures. Alternatively, the water could be protected from sunlight because it is hidden between the grains of the lunar soil. The second possibility would make the water slightly more accessible than trapped in bead-like structures, the space agency said.

Other research published by scientists in the same issue of Nature Astronomy theorizes, with the help of models and data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, that water could get trapped in tiny shadows on more lunar surface than is currently expected. In these shadows, temperatures stay below zero, the scientists stipulated.

Interestingly, this was the first time SOFIA looked at the Moon.