A new analysis carried out using data collected by lunar orbiters has found evidence that the water on the Moon is widely distributed over its entire surface – and not confined to a specific region or type of terrain. Water appears to be present both during the day and at night, although that does not imply that it is easily accessible.
“We have found that no matter what time of day we look at it or at what latitude, the signal indicating the presence of water seems to always be present ,” explains Joshua Bandfield, lead author of this new study published in the journal Nature Geoscience and principal investigator of the Space Science Institute, based in Boulder, in the state of Colorado (United States). “The presence of water does not seem to depend on the composition of the surface, and the water remains immobile,” continues Bandfield.
These results contradict previous studies that suggested that more water was detected in the polar latitudes of the Moon and that the strength of the water signal increased and decreased according to the lunar day (which lasts 29, 5 Earth days). Taking this into account, some scientists proposed that water molecules can migrate , through the lunar surface, towards the cold traps of the craters near the poles, permanently frozen areas, and that the water would be confined there. These cold traps are areas that are in permanent shade, since they do not receive direct light from the Sun, and the temperatures remain below 163 degrees, so that the water vapor and other volatiles that come into contact with the surface they remain stable for very long periods of time, up to several billion years.
The OH, less interesting than the H20
The new finding of generalized and relatively immobile water suggests that it could be present mainly as OH (hydroxyl group), made up of an oxygen atom and a hydrogen atom , which is more reactive than H2O, made up of two hydrogen atoms and one of oxygen. OH is less interesting than water since the former has to be extracted from minerals in order to use it. Scientists have yet to decide whether what is on the Moon is water, hydroxyl, or a mixture of both.
Where it comes from is also unknown. There are theories that indicate that it may come from asteroids that hit the natural satellite about 4.5 billion years ago or a consequence of the solar wind that hits the lunar surface, although these researchers do not rule out that it could come from the Moon itself, slowly released from the moon. interior of the minerals where it has been locked since the satellite was formed.
This finding could help researchers understand the origin of the Moon’s water and how easy or not it would be to use it as a resource . If the Moon has enough water, and if it is reasonably easy to access, future explorers could use it as drinking water or turn it into hydrogen and oxygen for rocket fuel or even oxygen for breathing.
