Water molecules discovered on entire lunar surface
A group of scientists from the Planetary Sciences Institute in Tucson (Arizona) and other American research centres have found that traces of water are present at all latitudes of the Moon, including sunlit areas – as evidenced by the results of a study published in The Planetary Science Journal, TASS reports
As a result of the analysis of mineralogical maps of the Earth’s natural satellite obtained using the Moon Mineralogy Mapper instrument of the Indian Chandrayan-1 spacecraft, the team of authors concluded that ‘rocks rich in water and hydroxyl’ can be found on the entire surface of the Moon. “Future astronauts may be able to find water even near the equator by exploiting these water-rich areas,” said Roger Clark, a senior researcher at the Planetary Sciences Institute, who is part of the study’s group of authors.
Previously, Chinese scientists assumed that the resources from which water could be obtained to supply theoretically possible objects on the Moon exist in sufficient quantities only at the lunar poles in places inaccessible to sunlight.
