Scientists have clearly demonstrated that water exists on the Moon – an important discovery in the history of space travel.
As reported, NASA held a press conference late October 26 to announce a very important discovery on the Moon. But that’s important, because they’ve found proof that WATER exists on Earth’s oldest satellite.
In fact, without an atmosphere to protect itself from the onslaught of the Sun, science has always believed that the surface of the Moon is extremely dry. This concept existed until the 1990s, when a satellite discovered ice in the almost bipolar crater of the Moon, but was inaccessible.
In 2009, a spectrophotometer aboard the Indian spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 found the light reflecting “probably” as a water sign on the Moon. However, due to technical limitations, science has not been able to say whether it is really the water molecule (H2O) or just the hydroxyl (OH) in minerals.
But now we have the answer. Casey Honniball from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland (USA) and his colleagues identified the chemical signature of H2O by analyzing the light waves reflected off the surface of the satellite. The data was collected as part of the SOFIA (Stratum Research Aircraft for Infrared Astronomy) program, housed in a Boeing 747 hovering at an altitude of 11 km, in the planet’s stratosphere.
Experts have determined that water exists at high latitudes near the south pole of the Moon, with an amount between 100 and 400 parts per million of H2O. “That’s about it” – Mahesh Anand, professor of planetary science and planetary discovery at the Open University (Milton Keynes, UK). “This is on par with the amount of water dissolved in lava that spills over the Earth’s ocean floor, can be harvested and produced as liquid water under the right conditions of temperature and pressure.”
Determining what water exists on the Moon will have a major effect on future missions. For example, astronauts can take the opportunity to drink, separate oxygen with hydrogen for propulsion or take oxygen for breathing. “Water is truly a very expensive resource in the universe,” Anand said.
However, obtaining this amount of water is not easy. Taking water from dark, steep terrain (where it is believed there is a lot of ice water), temperatures rarely exceeding minus 230 degrees C is in fact still impossible.
“If a lot of water is in areas that are not permanently dark, there is great potential to be able to reach them when the sun is shining,” said Ian Crawford, professor at University College London.
Of course, there are still questions that need to be answered. The first is the type of existence of water on the Moon. Experts say it’s likely just water mixed with fragments of “moon glass” (created when asteroids hit the moon’s surface). Another possibility is that fragments of ice crystals are distributed in the soil of the Moon. In general, if this was the second possibility, it would be easier to collect.
The next question is what is the size and scope of these countries. If there were only a few microns or millimeters above the surface, the applicability would be very low, while scientists would have a headache as to why such a “little” water exists.
The most practical way to find this answer is to go to the Moon yourself and go digging – this task will probably be completed in the next few years. The problem is where to dig? Permanently dark areas may be the best option, as the water there is protected from the sun.
Using satellite imagery data, expert Paul Hayne of the University of Colorado et al. Marked the distribution of water-retaining craters, with a total area estimated at 40,000 square kilometers. Although it occupies only 0.15% of the surface of the Moon, it also helps reduce current conflicts of interest in the space of nations.
