October 26, 2020
NASA announced it has discovered water on the sunlit surface of the moon.
The water was spotted near the Clavius crater, one of the largest crater formations on the celestial satellite and one that can be seen with the naked eye, Paul Hayne, a planetary scientist at the University of Colorado,said on a conference call with the press. Hayne is the lead author of one of the studies published on the topic.
Casey Honniball, lead author of the other study, said there are between 100 and 400 parts per million of water, or "roughly the equivalent of a 12-ounce bottle of water within a cubic meter of lunar soil."
"We had indications that H2O – the familiar water we know – might be present on the sunlit side of the Moon,†said Paul Hertz, NASA's director of the Astrophysics Division in the Science Mission Directorate, in a statement. "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.â€
The study led by Honniball found the presence of water directly on the surface, while Hayne's study speculated that water may be trapped in "small spatial scales" all over the surface of the moon.
Researchers have known for some time about the existence of that water on the moon, having first discovered water vapor as early as 1971. In 2009, the first evidence of frozen water on the surface was discovered.
As Johnny Carson would have said, "I did not know that!"
Incroyable! I'd be more convinced if NASA hadn't spent some time as a Muslim feel-good organization.
On the call, Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist for NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, said the results are "exciting for human exploration," but there are greater implications for it. "Understanding where the water is will help us determine where to send Artemis astronauts on the moon," Bleacher explained.
The new studies note it could be significantly more accessible than previously thought. As such, the water could be used for drinking, fuel supply and other use cases.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
03:57 PM
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BTW, notice how the author keeps saying "on the sunlit side" as though half the planet is in sunlight. It suggests he does not understand what he is talking about. The whole Moon is the "sunlit side" at some point, except places in deep craters that are in permanent shade. Between the sunlight and the hard vacuum there is little chance of water remaining in the open. It might be trapped below the surface.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at October 27, 2020 08:12 AM (Vzqto)
Posted by: Bill H at October 27, 2020 08:22 AM (vMiSr)
Posted by: Dana Mathewson at October 27, 2020 09:23 PM (ia9S4)
I agree Dana. It's too bad science writing is so poor. I would do a much better job - or any of us here.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at October 30, 2020 07:34 AM (ScZUi)
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