So, How Much Water Is On The Moon?

(Hat Tip: Tales of the Heliosphere and the Lunar News Network)

After observing rock samples retrieved from the lunar surface during the Apollo era, scientists have discovered traces of water "embedded" within the little Moon pebbles.

(Wired Science) In a study published today in Nature, researchers led by Brown University geologist Alberto Saal found evidence of water molecules in pebbles retrieved by NASA's Apollo missions.

The findings point to the existence of water deep beneath the moon's surface, transforming scientific understanding of our nearest neighbor's formation and, perhaps, our own. There may also be a more immediately practical application.

"Is there water there? That's important for lunar missions. People could get the water. They could use the hydrogen for energy," said Saal.

While the Moon is obviously dry today, many scientists think that if the Moon did hold large reservoirs of water, probably lost most of it in the past, leaving Earth's little sister parched and dry.

According to Wired, scientists were able to find water at the molecular level, although such news will probably not quench the thirst of any future colonist.


If the Moon does in fact hold large quantities of water, it is probably buried deep underground, or hidden from the Sun's rays within the shadows of polar craters.



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