The moon lacks the bodies of liquid water that are a hallmark of Earth, but scientists said Monday that lunar water is more widespread than previously known, with water molecules trapped within mineral grains on the surface. and more water perhaps hidden in patches of ice that reside in permanent shadows. .
While research 11 years ago indicated that water was relatively widespread in small amounts on the moon, a team of scientists now report the first unequivocal detection of water molecules on the lunar surface. At the same time, another team reports that the moon possesses roughly 15,000 square miles (40,000 square kilometers) of permanent shadows that could potentially harbor hidden pockets of water in the form of ice.
Water is a precious resource and a relatively abundant lunar presence could prove important for future missions by astronauts and robots looking to extract and use water for purposes such as supplying drinking water or a fuel ingredient.
A team led by Casey Honniball of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland detected molecular water on the lunar surface, trapped within natural glass or between grains of debris. Previous observations have suffered from ambiguity between water and its molecular cousin hydroxyl, but the new detection used a method that yielded unequivocal findings.
The only way for this water to survive on the sunlit lunar surfaces where it was observed was to be embedded within mineral grains, protecting it from the frigid and foreboding environment. The researchers used data from the SOFIA airborne observatory, a Boeing 747SP aircraft modified to carry a telescope.
“Many people think that the detection I made is water ice, which is not true. It’s just the water molecules, because they are so dispersed that they don’t interact with each other to form ice water or even liquid water, “said Honniball.
The second study, also published in the journal Nature Astronomy, focused on the so-called cold traps on the moon, regions of its surface that exist in a state of perpetual darkness where temperatures are below a negative 260 degrees Fahrenheit (163 degrees Negative Celsius). . That’s cold enough that frozen water can remain stable for billions of years.
Using data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft, researchers led by planetary scientist Paul Hayne of the University of Colorado, Boulder detected what may be tens of billions of tiny shadows, many no larger than a tiny coin. Most are in the polar regions.
“Our research shows that a multitude of previously unknown regions of the moon could host icy water,” Hayne said. “Our results suggest that water could be much more widespread in the polar regions of the moon than previously thought, making it easier to access, extract and analyze.”
NASA is planning the astronauts’ return to the moon, a mission that is planned to pave the way for a subsequent trip with a crew to Mars. Accessible sources where water can be collected on the moon would be beneficial to those efforts.
“Water is not just limited to the polar region. It is more widespread than we think, ”Honniball said.
Another mystery that remains unsolved is the source of the lunar water.
“The origin of water on the moon is one of the general questions that we are trying to answer through this and other investigations,” Hayne said. “Currently, the main contenders are comets, asteroids or small interplanetary dust particles, the solar wind and the moon itself through the degassing of volcanic eruptions.”
Earth is a humid world, with vast salty oceans, large freshwater lakes, and ice caps that serve as reservoirs for water.
“As our closest planetary companion, understanding the origins of water on the moon can also shed light on the origins of water on Earth, which remains an open question in planetary science,” added Hayne.
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