Chinese scientists discovered something groundbreaking when they examined soil samples from their lunar probe. Water along with minerals were found in the soil.
Chinese scientists identified water in glass beads on the lunar surface. This is the first time molecular water (H2O) has been identified in physical samples. It is retrieved from a lunar region previously believed to be devoid of such water.
Finding water on the moon is, on its own, nothing new. NASA and Indian spacecraft have spotted what they believe to be water on the moon’s surface, and Chinese scientists last year found water trapped in glass beads strewn across the moon.
Researchers examined samples from China’s Chang’e-5 mission, which landed on the Moon in 2020. They discovered a tiny, transparent crystal called ULM-1. This new lunar mineral, detailed in a study published on July 16 in Nature Astronomy, is about the width of a human hair, CNN reported.
The ULM-1 crystal (with the chemical formula (NH4)MgCl3·6H2O) are made up of roughly 41% water, with bits of ammonia that keep that H2O molecules stable despite wild temperature swings on the moon, according to the study.
Scientists indicated that this water might be useful for life on the Moon. The discovery is part of China’s broader effort to lead in space exploration. It also plans to build a Moon base. Chinese social media users celebrated the study, viewing the space program as a point of national pride.
“The discovery of a hydrated mineral at the Chang’e-5 landing site is fascinating and will further enhance our understanding of rock-vapor reactions in the lunar crust and on the lunar surface,” CNN quoted David A. Kring.
Kring is a principal scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Texas. He was not involved in the study.
There are three types of water that can exist on the moon, according to Yuqi Qian, a planetary geologist at the University of Hong Kong, who was not involved in the study.
There are water molecules, the compound we know as H2O; its frozen form, ice; and a molecular compound called hydroxyl, which is chemically similar to water.
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Previous discoveries suggested that water had existed on the moon when volcanoes used to erupt in the ancient past – and that lunar water had come from those volcanoes, meaning it came from within the moon and has been present since the moon’s early existence.
