A team of Chinese scientists has made a groundbreaking discovery about the Moon's water composition. By analyzing lunar soil samples brought back by the country's Chang'e-5 mission, researchers found that glassy materials within the soil contain hydroxyl and molecular water from various sources.
The study, published on Saturday in Science Advances, revealed that the glass formed by meteorite and micrometeorite impacts is the main carrier of molecular water in the Moon's soil. This discovery highlights the complex origins of water on our celestial neighbor.
Researchers from the Institute of Geochemistry under the Chinese Academy of Sciences examined nearly 100 samples of impact glass collected during the Chang'e-5 mission. They identified 12 grains that contained both hydroxyl and molecular water, indicating multiple sources of water on the Moon.
According to the study, the water originated from several potential sources: proton implantation from solar wind, delivery through water-rich meteorites or micrometeorites, and water native to the Moon. Notably, solar wind implantation was the primary contributor, underscoring its significant role in lunar water formation.
Tang Hong, the study's corresponding author, emphasized that these findings could help researchers understand how water sources and storage pathways developed on terrestrial planets. This knowledge is crucial for unraveling the history of water in our solar system.
The Chang'e-5 probe, which successfully returned to Earth on December 17, 2020, brought back 1,731 grams of lunar samples, primarily consisting of rocks and soil from the Moon's surface. Building on this success, China launched the Chang'e-6 spacecraft this month, aiming to collect and return samples from the Moon's far side to further study its formation and evolution.
Reference(s):
Glasses in Moon's soil preserve water from multiple sources: study
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