Technicians monitor the status of Chang'e 5 probe at the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center, Dec 1, 2021. Photo by Xinhua China's Chang'e 5 lunar lander has discovered the first on-site
evidence of water molecules on the moon's surface, putting a
long-running scientific debate regarding the satellite's humidity to
rest, according to a study published in the journal Science Advances on
Friday. Since the mid-20th century, scientists thought the moon was
completely arid. But in 2020, NASA confirmed via remote observation that
water molecules should be widely distributed across the lunar surface,
though it lacked actual on-site evidence to support its claims. Lunar samples retrieved by the Chang'e 5 lunar probe in December 2020
revealed that the soil at its landing site, the Northern Oceanus
Procellarum basin, contains less than 120 parts per million water, or
120 grams of water per metric ton. A rock from the region was found to
carry 180 ppm of water, much drier than those found on Earth. Scientists believe most of the water in the lunar soil was implanted
by solar wind, which blew hydrogen atoms onto the surface of the moon,
where they reacted with oxygen on the surface minerals to form water
molecules and hydroxyl, a chemical group that contains one hydrogen atom
bonded to one oxygen atom. Interestingly, because the rock is somehow wetter than its
surrounding soil, this suggests that there may be extra sources of water
on the moon, such as from its interior, given there is evidence to
suggest the rock may have been ejected from the ground. Lin Honglei, the first author of the study and an associate
researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Geology and
Geophysics, said detecting water signals, like water molecules and
hydroxyl, is different from finding actual liquid water. Scientists would need to treat rock and soil with heat to extract
water molecules and hydroxyl from them and turn it into liquid water, he
said. Lin Yangting, one of the study's co-authors, said China's next two
lunar missions-Chang'e 6 and Chang'e 7-hope to examine the content and
distribution of lunar surface water at the same site in greater detail. The latest discovery can serve as a foundation for the two future missions to achieve their scientific objectives, he said.
Chinese lunar lander finds evidence of water
Editor:阮梓峰
Source:China Daily
Updated:2022-01-12 15:51:13
Source:China Daily
Updated:2022-01-12 15:51:13
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