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water on moon

The discovery of large quantities of water on the moon will have very significant implications for human space exploration, according to Kingston University space expert Dr Chris Welch. The findings by NASA, which have been hitting the headlines today, were reportedly made after researchers examined data from three separate missions to the moon.

Current thinking is that the water comes from particles in the solar wind .

The wind strikes the soil on the surface of the moon, which has no magnetic field or atmosphere to protect it, and stimulates chemical reactions in which oxygen atoms in the soil combine with hydrogen nuclei to form water (H2O) and hydroxyl (HO) molecules.

The water is thought to exist as a very fine film covering the particles of the lunar soil, or as groups of molecules, not as a liquid.

You couldn’t drink it in its current form, but if extracted, then you certainly could.

It has been suggested that one cubic metre of soil might provide one litre of water.

At the poles of the moon, it is thought that water ice may exist in craters.

Hence on October 9 NASA LCROSS spacecraft is due to carry out two impacts on polar craters to see if it can throw up evidence of water ice.