- First Confirmed Detection of Water:
- Scientists announce the first definitive detection of water molecules on the Moon's surface, marking a significant milestone.
- NASA's recent findings reveal molecular water trapped within ice across the lunar surface, including sunlit regions.
- Distribution of Water:
- Water is not confined to the Moon's poles; studies indicate its presence across sunlit areas and in cold, shadowy regions.
- Previous missions focused on polar ice, but recent research suggests water may be more widespread than previously thought.
- Extent of Water Discovery:
- Analysis of Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter images suggests approximately 40,000 square kilometers of the Moon's surface could contain water.
- Researchers identify various states of water, including molecules within mineral grains and patches of ice in shaded areas.
- Implications for Future Missions:
- New studies published in Nature Astronomy highlight the potential for easier retrieval of water resources on the Moon.
- While the Moon lacks liquid bodies of water, the widespread distribution of water molecules and ice patches presents opportunities for future exploration.
While studies from 11 years ago indicated that water is relatively prevalent and present at low levels on the Moon, the first unequivocal detection of molecules of water on the Moon's surface is now being reported by a group of scientists. On October 26, 2022, NASA scientists announced that they had detected molecular water on the Moon trapped within ice throughout the lunar surface. NASA has detected water on the Moon's sunlit surface; scientists said on Monday, a discovery that may aid efforts to create a permanent human presence on the lunar surface.
NASA has confirmed that there is water on the Moon's sunlit surface water. The Moon's sunlit surface, a discovery that suggests that the chemical compounds that are essential for life on Earth may be distributed over more parts of the lunar surface than ice, which has been found in darker, more excellent areas before. Now, researchers in two new studies have detected water at one of the most significant crater formations on the Moon's sunlit surface. They also found that the Moon's sunlit surface may contain large patches of hidden ice in the cold trenches, regions of permanently shaded patches of the Moon. Previous missions in the last couple of decades, like the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing satellite operated by NASA, found ice in difficult-to-reach craters near the poles of the Moon, which are constantly under the shade.
In recent years, researchers have been able to document water ice in just the poles of the Moon and in other dark, cooler areas. Researchers had been looking for a signature of water at the craters close to the Moon's poles, but found evidence for water on sunlit parts of the Moon instead. Then, in November 2020, one month before China's Lunar Lander would reveal any water from the lunar surface, NASA announced that NASA might be able to confirm that there is water in a sunny portion of the Moon - without going there.
Using images taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Paul Hayne, at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and colleagues plotted out distributions of small craters and areas of loose soil and calculated that about 40,000 kilometers of the Moon's surface had the potential to hold water. By analyzing high-resolution images of the Moon, the team calculated that a cache of dark, shadowy poles hosted some 40,000 square kilometers of continuously shaded areas that might harbor water, ranging from kilometers-wide craters to shallow dips in the landmine by meteorites.
Two new studies published in Nature Astronomy confirm that water may be found throughout the Moon's surface in various states, potentially making it far easier to retrieve this precious resource in future missions. The Moon does not have bodies of liquid water, which is the signature feature of the planet. However, scientists said Monday, October 26, 2020, the lunar water is more widely distributed than previously known, with water molecules trapped inside the grains of minerals on the surface. Even more water is possibly hidden within patches of ice in the constant shade.