New Evidence of Water on Moon's Surface | China Chang'e-5 Lunar Mission
A team of Chinese scientists has identified in a lunar sample, retrieved by the Chang'e-5 Moon Mission in 2020, a kind of mineral enriched with water in its molecular structure. An increasing body of evidence has pointed to the existence of water or water ice on the Moon's surface. However, it is more likely to be in the form of hydroxyl groups.
Now, scientists led by those from the Institute of Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences have discovered a hydrated mineral that contains up to six molecules of crystalline water. According to a study published recently in the journal Nature Astronomy, water molecules weigh as much as about 41 percent of the total mass.
The researchers said this discovery signifies the first direct detection of molecular water within the lunar regolith, shedding light on an actual form of water molecules and ammonium on the Moon's surface.
The mineral's structure and composition bear a striking resemblance to a mineral found near volcanoes on Earth. At the same time, terrestrial contamination or rocket exhaust has been ruled out as the origin of this hydrate, according to the study.
This finding has unveiled a potential form in which water molecules may exist on the lunar surface: hydrated salts. Unlike volatile water ice, these hydrates are very stable in high-latitude regions of the moon, even in sunlit areas.
The origin and chemical form of lunar water had remained elusive, despite extensive laboratory research on lunar samples collected by NASA's Apollo mission dating from the 1960s and 1970s.
The researchers said China's discovery opens up new possibilities for the future development and utilization of lunar water resources.
Utilizing in-situ resources on the Moon will lay a foundation for establishing a long-term lunar station. China aims to build the basic model of an international lunar research station by 2035.
Chang'e-5 Moon Landing Site: Mons Rümker, region of Oceanus Procellarum—a vast lunar mare on the western edge of the near side of the Moon.
The Chang'e-5 lunar sample return mission was the first of its kind since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976. This successful mission made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the former Soviet Union.
Video Credit: China Central Television (CCTV)
Duration: 1 minute, 45 seconds
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