Posted on 10/27/2020 9:54:12 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Fly me to the Moon, let me swim among the stars
Water molecules have been detected in soil in one of the Moon's largest sunlit craters, NASA announced on Monday, which means permanent bases on the natural satellite may be potentially a lot easier to support.
The discovery was made using a telescope onboard NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) – a modified Boeing 747 capable of flying 45,000 feet above our planet. The airborne 'scope spied what may well be water in the Clavius crater, which is visible from Earth, located in the southern hemisphere, and, coincidentally, the site of the Moon base in Arthur C. Clarke's classic sci-fi novel 2001.
“We had indications that H2O – the familiar water we know – might be present on the sunlit side of the Moon,” said Paul Hertz, director of NASA’s Astrophysics Division in the Science Mission Directorate.
“Now we know it is there. This discovery challenges our understanding of the lunar surface and raises intriguing questions about resources relevant for deep space exploration.”
moon water An illustration of water molecules in lunar beads and the location of the crater in the southern hemisphere of the Moon ... Source: NASA/Daniel Rutter
NASA doesn’t know exactly how much water in total is present in the crater. Initial readings, published in Nature Astronomy, show the Clavius regolith contains about 100 to 412 parts per million of water – that’s roughly a 12-ounce bottle of water, or about 355 ml of the liquid, per cubic metre of lunar soil.
In other words, the Moon is still pretty dry. The Sahara desert, for instance, contains 100 times more water than the amount found in the Clavius crater.
The water molecules are spread so thinly that they do not form liquid water or solid ice, said Casey Honniball, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, during a press conference today. Instead, they are trapped within tiny beads, each one measuring about the size of a pencil tip. She believes the water is formed from solar wind and micrometeorite impacts.
Radiation from the Sun frees hydroxy (OH) from chemical compounds in the lunar soil, and tiny meteorite impacts provide the heat needed to merge two hydroxy particles to ultimately form water. This energy also melts surrounding material to form the glass beads that act as a protective casing to allow the water molecules to survive and persist despite the Moon’s lack of atmosphere. Scientists know that some water is tucked away as icy deposits, known as cold traps, in the Moon's polar regions that are permanently covered in shadow. This is the first time water has been found in sunlit areas.
"Water is critical for deep space exploration,” Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist at NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems Division, told reporters during the press briefing. “It can be turned into oxygen to breathe, water to drink, or be used for fuel supply.”
The American space agency hopes to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024, and wants to eventually set up a lunar base [PDF]. If water can be extracted from the surface, it’ll make living on the natural satellite much easier, and provide a way for future generations of astronauts to restock and refuel on their way to more distant locations, such as Mars.
But the idea is purely speculative at the moment. Bleacher said scientists don’t yet know how accessible the water is, though finding it in sunlit areas is good news for upcoming lunar missions.
Naseem Rangwala, SOFIA’s project scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center, said the data was recorded when its 747 flew over Nevada in 2018. It was the first time the airborne telescope had been directed at the Moon. The results are only now being released after months of analysis.
The team is planning more observations using SOFIA next year. In order to work out if the water is accessible, NASA will need to send spacecraft to collect and study samples of the lunar surface. Its next Moon rover, the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER), is designed to hunt for water at the Moon's south pole and is expected to launch in 2023.
Interestingly, in a separate study also published on Monday, a group of researchers at the University of Colorado predicted that the total area of cold traps on the Moon is some 15,000 square miles, double the amount in previous estimates. ®
Regards,
I’m not sure how they get from “what may well be” and “might be” to “Now we know it is there”.
I hate when I get water in my clavius crater.
Why do you say that?
The odd part... This constant search for water on other planets. Other than water that has been peed out by astronauts in outer space, all the water that was on earth from the very beginning is still here.
Water doesn’t disappear. It turns into ice, but when the ice melts... What you have is water. It evaporates into the air, but then it turns back into water and falls back to earth as rain. We really do not need any more water. We have enough on earth to satisfy humanity until the end of humanity.
That’s why I find this need to find water so interesting... I guess the idea is that we can live on Mars or the Moon because there is water there. The question is... Once you have found heaven... Which happens to be on earth if you’re living in the right place... Why would you go anywhere else?
It has nothing to do with us needing water. It has everything to do with sustaining life not of earth.
R.A.Heinlein (1907-88) also posited water on (within) the Moon in his 1966 Novel, “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress” (Hugo Award 1967). Exiled convict settlers mine veins of water-ice for both human and agriculture. Agriculture is the source of necessary food for an overpopulated Earth under UN World Government. Good lesson in being at the top of a gravity well!
One of Heinlein’s best.
Arthur C Clarke (1917-2008) was a born Englishman of Minehead, Somerset, and started going to Ceylon (Colonial Name of Sri Lanka) in pursuit of avid SCUBA hobby and made it permanent in 1956. Other than his SF & science writing, he was RAF in WW2 and his 1945 proposal for permanent communication satellites in geostationary earth orbit (Clarke Orbit). Most famous of his works is "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968) collaboration with Stanley Kubrick from his short story "The Sentinel" (1948).
I have wondered about this for many years. Thank you for describing it so well.
Within known science water, a molecule of Hydrogen and Oxygen, is absolutely necessary for building and sustaining all living things. We carry a miniature saltwater sea inside these bags of flesh, bone, and feces called our “bodies”. Along with Carbon, the solar system and galaxy seem to be awash in the stuff. Find water and you might find life.
His defenders try to hide it.
You "guess" right.
Putting the issue of "colonization" aside for a moment...
If scientists ever want to establish a long-term base on either the Moon or Mars, it would be VERY, VERY convenient to be able to tap local sources of water. Besides needing drinking water, there's also a need for water for purposes of, e.g., irrigation. Because how could you possibly establish a self-sustaining, long-term research station on either the Moon or Mars without growing your own food?
Water can also be subjected to electrolysis to produce breathable O2.
Water could also be used either as an inert propellant (heated by nuclear energy to produce steam), or as a feedstock for various other industrial purposes.
The possibilities are endless...
Regards,
We have been to the Moon. We have brought back some of the Moon and analyzed it. We found nothing, nada, zilch. Get over it.
Arthur C. Clarke was an ENGLISH author who MOVED from the UK to Sri Lanka
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