Anyone up for a drink of Moon Water?
March 2nd 2011 09:19
Category: Cosmic Objects
Water on the Moon ; Image by CarlCan
For many years the debate relating to whether the Moon has water has continued.
Scientists have speculated that water on the Moon would exist. Well the critics have been answered it is official the Moon does have water. Although the Moon does not possess oceans of water like Earth and contrary to what Galileo named the “seas” on the Moon Maria the Moon does have pockets of water.
You would be right to think if the Moon has a very hostile climate some plus 230 degrees in the sunlight and minus 196 degrees in the unlit areas of the Moon, most of the water would evaporated.
visible camera image showing the ejecta plume at about 20 seconds after the Centaur : NASA image
The Moon may have had some water on the surface at one time and over 3.5 billion years that water has since evaporated into space. But pockets of water remain hidden in the dark valleys of the Moon away from any sunlight the water remains frozen.
In 1998, NASA launched the Lunar Prospector spacecraft. On board a device called a neutron spectrometer, it detected large amounts of hydrogen on the North and South polar regions of the Moon.
After the success of Lunar Prospector spacecraft NASA launched another more advanced probe LCROSS
Above: Hydrogen deposits measured by Lunar Prospector. NASA image
The October 9, 2009 NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) confirmed the finding when it impacted into the permanently shadowed region of the Cabeus . What the probe discovered was a surprisingly large amount of water ice exists in this region.
"There's water in them thar hills"
Perhaps not in the hills It’s more likely to be in the deep valleys. The water on the Moon also contains small amounts of numerous other elements, including some metal substances.
The water on the Moon is very dirty to say the least you might want to bring a water purifier if you intend to drink Moon water.
The LCROSS probe impact vaporized volatile material from the bottom of Cabeus crater, including water and sodium. Causing the vapor plume rise about 800 meters (around 2,600 feet) the plume was high enough to reach the Sunlight. The LCROSS probe also recorded the presence of sodium atoms.
It is estimated that the water on the Moon has 2 percent sodium. This is consistent with the amount of sodium contained in comets, so perhaps the bulk of the sodium and water came from cemetery impacts.
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With the amount of water on the Moon a Moon base could be supported. The necessary water oxygen for the crew and fuel in the form of hydrogen to be used as rocket propellant for the return journey back to Earth.
Having a permanent Moon base is no longer out of the question. In the near future some nation is bound to take up the challenge.
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Comment by S.L.
The Political Brief
The more we learn about the moon, CarlCan, the more likely it seems to be a future asset for us. The water would permit a colony (or at least a manned mining operation) and the minerals could be a "gold mine" for whoever gets there first. It's a shame that NASA has been turned away from space exploration.
Comment by CarlCan
Astroearth
Camera Sense
Hi S.L.
I think there serving it withTrue Grit Scotch
Comment by S.L.
The Political Brief