China's Lunar Lander Finds Evidence of Native Water on Moon
upstart writes:
Samples from the Moon's Oceanus Procellarum may be able to help determine the source of lunar water:
China's lunar lander Chang'E-5 delivered the first real-time, on-site definitive confirmation of water signal in the basalt's rocks and soil via on-board spectral analysis in 2020. The finding was validated through laboratory analysis of samples the lander returned in 2021. Now, the Chang'E-5 team has determined where the water came from.
[...] Chang'E-5 did not observe lunar rivers or springs; rather the lander identified, on average, 30 hydroxyl parts per million in rocks and soil on the Moon's surface. The molecules, made of one oxygen and one hydrogen atom, are the main ingredient of water, as well as the most common result of water molecules chemically reacting with other matter. Despite representing what Li called the "weak end of lunar hydration features," hydroxyl is to water what smoke is to fire: evidence.
[...] "This excess hydroxyl is indigenous, demonstrating the presence of lunar-originated internal water in the Chang'E-5 lunar samples, and that water played an important role in the formation and crystallization of the late lunar basaltic magma," Li said, referring to the composition of Chang'E-5 landing site in the mare basalt of Oceanus Procellarum. "By investigating lunar water and its source, we are learning more about the formation and evolution of not just the Moon itself, but also the solar system. In addition, lunar water is expected to provide support for future human lunar in-situ resources."
Journal Reference:
Liu, Jianjun, Liu, Bin, Ren, Xin, et al. Evidence of water on the lunar surface from Chang'E-5 in-situ spectra and returned samples [open], Nat Commun, 13, 2022. (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30807-5)
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