Scientists have discovered a new renewable source of water on the Moon, in lunar samples collected by a Chinese mission, which could be used by future explorers.
The water was embedded in small glass spheres in the lunar soil where meteorite impacts occur.
These bright, multicolored glass spheres were found in samples China collected from the Moon in 2020.
The spheres range in size from the width of a hair to several hairs.
The water content is only a small fraction of these, explained Hejiu Hui of Nanjing University, who was involved in the research.
As there are billions or trillions of these impact spheres, this could represent substantial amounts of water, but extracting them would be difficult, according to the researchers.
“Yes, it will require lots, lots of glass spheres. On the other hand, there are a lot of them,” Hui said, in an emailed response to the Associated Press (AP).
These spheres could continuously produce water thanks to the constant bombardment of hydrogen by the solar wind.
The findings, published Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience, are based on 32 randomly selected glass spheres from lunar soil recovered by the Chang’e 5 lunar mission.
More samples will be tested, Hui stressed.
These impact spheres are everywhere, a result of the cooling of molten material ejected by space rocks hitting the Moon.
The water could be extracted by heating the spheres, possibly by future robotic missions.
However, more studies are needed to determine if this would be feasible and, if so, if the water would be safe to drink.
This shows that “water can be renewable on the moon’s surface…a new reservoir of water on the moon,” Hui added.
Previous studies have found water in glass spheres formed by lunar volcanic activity, based on samples taken by Apollo astronauts more than half a century ago.
These spheres could also provide water not only for future crews, but also as rocket fuel.
The US space agency (NASA) intends to return astronauts to the lunar surface by the end of 2025.
The mission will focus on the south pole, where permanently shadowed craters are thought to be filled with water ice.
Source: TSF
