Chinese Scientists Discover Water Molecules in Lunar Soil

Chinese Scientists Discover Water Molecules in Lunar Soil/AFP

VoM News Desk | July 24, 2024 | 02:48 PM IST | Featured by VoM, Featured Edition, Science & Technology | Follow on Google News

Chinese Scientists Discover Water Molecules in Lunar Soil

Chinese Scientists Discover Water Molecules in Lunar Soil

Key Highlights:

1. Chinese scientists find water molecules in lunar soil for the first time.
2. Discovery based on samples from China’s Chang’e-5 mission.
3. New findings offer insights into lunar evolution and resource exploitation.

Chinese scientists have discovered water molecules in lunar soil, a groundbreaking finding that could enhance our understanding of the moon’s evolution and its potential resources. This discovery, based on samples from China’s Chang’e-5 mission in 2020, reveals a hydrated mineral “enriched” with molecular water, as reported by the South China Morning Post, citing the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

This contrasts with previous conclusions from American Apollo mission samples, which indicated that lunar soil was completely dry. The joint research by the Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, the Institute of Physics of CAS, and other institutions was published in the journal Nature Astronomy on July 16.

Using a sample from the China National Space Administration, researchers isolated over 1,000 mineral “clasts” and identified a platelike transparent crystal, named “unknown lunar mineral” (ULM-1), containing water molecules. The possibility of contamination from terrestrial sources or rocket exhaust was ruled out by the researchers.

“If this water-bearing mineral is present in the lunar samples, more than one piece should be found,” said an anonymous scientist not associated with the study.

The search for water on the moon has been a long-standing quest for lunar scientists. Over the past decade, China has significantly invested in its space program, aiming to match traditional space powers like the United States and Russia. China has built a space station, sent astronauts into orbit, and plans to send a crewed mission to the moon by 2030, with the ultimate goal of establishing a base on the lunar surface.

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