The moon has long been believed to have a dry surface, but researchers have only just confirmed the presence of water there. These results were obtained from a study of data belonging to the Chinese spacecraft, Chang'e 5.
According to the Global Times, Chang'e 5 data show evidence for the first time detectable water on the moon indicating as much as 120 parts per million of water, such as hydroxyl or H20, in the lunar regolith.
A joint research team led by Lin Yangting and Lin Honglei from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has observed signals for the presence of water in the spectral reflectance data of the Moon's surface collected by Chang'e 5.
The results of this study were published in Science Advance, a cross-field peer-reviewed science journal run by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, on Saturday (7/1).
Researchers say in the study results that water on the moon 'is largely related to the implantation of the solar wind'.
Previous studies of water on the Moon have been carried out over the past decade and have found evidence of the presence of water, such as hydroxyl or H20, on the lunar surface. However, this research was conducted indirectly, while Chang'e 5 data were obtained from in-situ or directly on site.
Chang'e 5 landed at a medium-altitude location on the Moon's surface and then brought back to Earth a sample weighing 1.731 grams. Prior to arriving on Earth, the Lunar Mineralogical Spectrometer (LMS) on board Chang'e 5 performed a spectral reflectance test on the sample, this has never been done to study water on the Moon.
Eurekalert.org describes quantitative spectral analysis indicating soil on the Moon near the Chang'e 5 landing contains less than 120 parts per million water. This is said to be consistent with the analysis of the same sample on Earth.
The presence of water on the Moon allows the human imagination to live there and helps produce fuel for spacecraft.
Chang'e, which carried a total of 2 kilograms of lunar samples, landed on Earth on December 17, 2020. China plans to send Chang'e 6 and 7 on a mission to search for water on the Moon.
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