by ALEX WILKINS
Glass beads created by meteoroid impacts on the lunar surface should contain enough water for future astronauts to use
Tiny glass beads on the moon formed by meteoroid impacts might collectively contain as much water as there is in ice near the moon’s poles, and could be harvested for water by future moon expeditions.
Mahesh Anand at the Open University in Milton Keynes, UK, and his colleagues analysed samples returned to Earth by China’s Chang’e-5 lunar probe and found glass beads, known as spherules, that are formed in the extremely hot aftermath of meteoroids hitting the lunar surface.
Using microscopes and spectroscopy to analyse the glass beads, the team found they contained water with the same hydrogen isotopes – atoms of the same element that differ by the number of neutrons they contain – as those found in charged particles ejected by the sun. Previous research has shown that spherules can contain oxygen, so the researchers suspect that hydrogen from the sun combined with this oxygen to make water.
The moon is constantly being pummelled by meteoroids because it has no atmosphere, meaning these beads should be scattered across its surface. The team estimates that there could be around 300 billion tonnes of water stored within them. That is comparable to the amount of water ice on the moon in permanently shadowed craters near the lunar poles, and is potentially much easier to access.
New Scientist for more