Study: Water Sources on Moon More Widespread than Thought

2024 · VOA Learning English

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1. A new study suggests sources of water on the moon are more widespread than previously thought.

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2. The study was based on new examinations of data collected by India’s Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft.

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3. It launched in October 2008 and collected data while orbiting the moon for about a year.

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4. Chandrayaan-1 has already provided evidence of water on the moon. In September 2009, scientists published a study based on data from the Indian space mission.

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5. The data showed the presence of molecules linked to water, as well as the substance hydroxyl.

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6. The American space agency NASA describes hydroxyl (OH) as “a molecule made up of one hydrogen atom and one oxygen atom with a free (unpaired)

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7. electron.” It notes it is “one of the most reactive gases in the atmosphere” and can help break down other gases in the air.

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8. The 2009 study suggested the water molecules identified by Chandrayaan-1 data were mainly found in the moon’s extreme northern and

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9. Scientists said the data from that study showed most of the water probably existed in large craters near the poles where sunlight is blocked.

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10. But new examinations of the data show that water and hydroxyl molecules likely exist over much wider areas of the moon.

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11. In addition, the research suggests water is even present in areas of the moon receiving direct sunlight.

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12. The instrument aboard Chandrayaan-1 that captured the molecule data is called the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3).

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13. NASA built and operated the instrument. The space agency describes M3 as an “imaging spectrometer.”

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14. A spectrometer is an instrument used to study the chemical composition and structures of substances.

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15. On the Chandrayaan-1 mission, the spectrometer aimed to map the mineral composition of materials on the moon’s surface.

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16. Researchers examined this data and centered their search on areas outside the lunar poles.

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17. They found that the sources of water and hydroxyl are believed to be contained in minerals on or just below the moon’s surface.

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18. Scientists involved in the research recently reported their results in a study published in the Planetary Science Journal

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19. The research was led by Roger Clark, a senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute.

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20. In a press release announcing the findings, the researchers noted their discovery was made possible by data that the M3 instrument collected.

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21. They explained the instrument provides highly detailed data using imaging and infrared technologies.

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22. The M3 instrument, for example, can identify 85 different colors in its examinations of mineral compositions.

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23. This compares to normal digital cameras, which generally only record three colors.

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24. The researchers said, “Just like we see different colors from different materials, the infrared spectrometer can see many (infrared) colors to better determine the

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25. composition, including the water and hydroxyl."

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26. The team noted the water might have resulted from heating of rocks and soil or from chemical reactions that combined different hydroxyls to produce water, as well as

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27. oxygen. Clark, from the Planetary Science Institute, said both cratering and volcanic activity can bring water-rich materials to the surface.

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28. He noted that both are observed in the newly examined data.

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29. “We see a lunar surface with complex geology with significant water in the sub-surface and a surface layer of hydroxyl.”

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30. The discovery, Clark said, can be helpful to future exploration efforts on the moon.

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31. “Future astronauts may be able to find water even near the equator by exploiting these water-rich areas.”

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32. He added, “Knowing where water is located not only helps to understand lunar geologic history, but also where astronauts may find water in the

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