A new and renewable source of water discovered on the moon
Scientists have discovered a new and renewable source of water on the moon. Researchers from China have found that tiny glass beads in the lunar dirt are rich in water. These beads were brought back from the Moon by China’s Chang’e-5 lunar mission in 2020. This discovery could significantly boost future explorations to the Moon and pave way for a sustainable scientific research presence on it.
Glass beads on the moon contain trapped water
The research team led by Li Xuegang of China University of Geosciences revealed that these glass beads contain trapped water, which is produced by the reaction of solar hydrogen with oxygen present on the surface of the lunar glass beads. The water found in these glass beads is a mere fraction of their total volume, but with an estimated 300 million to 1 billion tonnes spread out over the Moon’s surface, finding methods to mine them could provide a vital and accessible resource for future space exploration.
Potential challenges for mining water
However, even though this discovery provides a new source of water for astronauts who visit the Moon, mining it will not be an easy task. As there are billions and trillions of particles scattered across the lunar surface, extracting these tiny glass beads with encapsulated water requires specialized machinery and technologies. The challenge lies in extracting enough water to make it economically feasible for use by humans.
The importance of understanding how water is stored on the Moon
This discovery is not just exciting from a scientific perspective but also has significant practical implications as well. Understanding how water is stored on the moon could help create potential resources that could one day be converted to drinking water or even rocket fuel. There may be large deposits of ice at the Moon’s poles which could also be used as a source of drinking water and other essentials for future human settlements on the Moon.
The potential for exploring the Moon in a sustainable manner
This discovery opens up new opportunities for a sustainable future of space exploration. Having a source of water on the Moon can reduce the need of carrying it over from Earth, which would save costs and resources. Water could also be used to produce breathable air, which could reduce the amount of air that needs to be delivered over time to support astronauts during long-duration missions.
Future prospects
NASA is planning to send astronauts to the South Pole of the Moon by 2025, where there is believed to be frozen water in permanently shadowed craters. With this new discovery, mining water from glass beads may change how we think about sustainability on the moon and have significant implications on future space exploration.
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
