There arewater on the moon. This is the conclusion reached by the authors of three different scientific studies published today by the journalScience. One of the investigations is based on data collected by the first lunar mission of the Indian Space Research Agency (ISRO), thesonda Chandrayaan 1, which stopped working on August 28. The other two works are the result of the analyzes contributed by the missions of theCassini and Epoxy probes(beforeDeep Impact), both from NASA.
“When we say ‘water on the Moon’, we are not talking about lakes, oceans or even puddles ,? explains Carle Pieters, a geologist at Brown University in Rhode Island and co-author of the first study. Rather? It implies the presence ofwater and hydroxyl molecules(a hydrogen atom and an oxygen atom) that interact with rock and dust molecules in the highest millimeters of the lunar surface, “adds Pieters. That is, we could not take a bath on the Moon, but? if it could be squeezed a cubic meter of lunar soil would we obtain a liter of water ?.
Jessica Sunshine, who along with her colleagues has drawn a completeinfrared map of selenite surfacewith the data ofDeep Impact, states that their results suggest that the formation of these molecules is aongoing processand thatsolar windcould be responsible for their training.
The articles on the Moon have coincided with the disclosure inScienceof the latest water finds inMars. According to NASA, the probe’s instrumentsMars Reconnaissance Orbiter(MRO) indicate that, under the surface of five craters located between the North Pole and the equator of the red planet, there is water. According to Shane Byrne, a scientist at the University of Arizona, “themartian iceit is a remnant of a more humid climate, perhaps several thousand years ago. “Furthermore, the purity of this ice is surprising,” from1 percent dust and 99 percent iceByrne points out.
