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NASA has discovered that there is more water on the moon than the small water resources around the two poles of the moon that were previously known.
It was during a press conference yesterday that NASA announced that its airborne observatory SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) found water molecules within mineral fragments in Clavius crater located on the sunlit side of the moon. NASA writes in a press release:
SOFIA has detected water molecules (H2O) in Clavius crater, one of the largest craters visible from Earth, located in the southern hemisphere of the Moon. Previous observations of the Moon’s surface detected some form of hydrogen, but could not distinguish between water and its close chemical relative, hydroxyl (OH). Data from this location reveal water in concentrations of 100 to 412 parts per million, roughly equivalent to a 12-ounce bottle of water, trapped in a cubic meter of soil scattered across the lunar surface. “
NASA further writes that there is currently more water in the Sahara desert than the water resources they have now discovered on the moon, in other words it is not an inexhaustible source of water as far as we know at this time. However, this is an important discovery, as it may mean that in the future we can use the water from the moon itself when we finally start building lunar bases and other things there. Jacob Bleacher, chief of research for NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, says:
“Water is a valuable resource, both for scientific purposes and for the use of our explorers. If we can use the resources on the Moon, then we can transport less water and more equipment to help enable new scientific discoveries.”
In the video below, NASA tells a little more about its new discoveries of water on the moon.
