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Water on the Moon

Water on the Moon

Recent discoveries have led scientists to believe that, contrary to earlier theory, there actually is water on the moon. Water molecules have been found in pebbles picked up by NASA's Apollo missions.

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  1. Why do scientist believe there might be water on the moon?

    In November of 2009, scientist Anthony Colaprete confirmed th...

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  3. What percentage of the moon is water?

    Water probably is only 0.3 percent to 1 percent of the Moon's...

  4. What happens when you pour water on the moon?

    As soon as you come out with a glass of water on moon, it wil...

  5. Is there water or ice on the moon?

    Ice might be present at both the north and south lunar poles....

About Water on the Moon

Even though the moon has many seas, most scientists thought it was dry. But, they were wrong.
Evidence of water molecules in pebbles retrieved by NASA's Apollo missions was found. Their findings point to the existence of water deep beneath the moon's surface.

The pebbles where the water molecules were found were scattered by lunar volcanoes that had erupted three billion years ago, when the moon was still a cooling hunk of magma cast into orbit by the collision of a Mars-sized asteroid with Earth.

Even though NASA's Lunar Prospector appeared to have struck ice in 1999, its findings proved inconclusive. Even if they had been supported, scientists predicted that any water would have come from gases emitted by meteorites striking the moon.

A high-powered imaging technique known as secondary ion mass spectrometry revealed a wealth of volatile compounds, among them fluorine, chlorine, sulfur, carbon dioxide and water.

Hydrogen molecules were concentrated at the center of the samples rather than on their surfaces, showing that water was present in an infant moon rather than added by recent bombardment.

There are potentially two types of water on the moon: exogenic, meaning water from outside sources, such as comets striking the moon’s surface, and endogenic, meaning water that originates on the moon.
If that water came from the Earth, then planetary geologists can be certain that our planet contained water 4.5 billion years ago. That would change the dynamics of models of Earth's formations.

Water could have been added after the moon was ejected into space but before it cooled, raising new questions about the water's origin. More practically, the widespread presence of water beneath the moon's surface could prove to be a benefit to future lunar colonies, who could harvest it for breathable oxygen and hydrogen fuel.

Whether that is possible depends on the water's extent and concentration. This is not yet known.

vickiz

Related Images

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WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 7: In this handout photo provided by NASA, a full Moon lights the sky above the U.S. Capitol early in the evening on February 7, 2012 from Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC. Tonight's moon marks the peak of its waxing.

A red shadow falls across the Moon during the last total lunar eclipse of 2011 as seen from the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles, on December 10, 2011. A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon, following its orbit around Earth, passes directly behind our planet as seen from the sun.

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Water on the Moon