NASA Found Water On the Moon's Sunlit Surface
The universe has always been a mystery to humans. Many attempts were made by man to unravel the mystery hidden in the universe. One of those efforts was the first step of man on the moon.
The united states along with NASA makes it possible in 1961 through Apollo 11's mission to land two men on the moon. They did many experiment, took pictures, and picked up bits of moon dirt and rocks.
After this mission, the Moon surface was thought to be completely dry. Over the last 20 years, orbital and impactor missions confirmed water ice is present inside dark, permanently shadowed craters around the poles.
Now, NASA achieved one more success and confirmed the presence of water on the Moon. Using its SOFIA, the world's largest flying observatory, it found water on a sunlit lunar surface for the first time. The discovery suggests water may be distributed across the Moon’s surface, which is a whopping 14.6 million square miles.
The amount of water detected is equivalent to about a 12-ounce bottle trapped in a cubic meter volume of soil. While that amount is 100 times less than what’s found in the Sahara Desert, discovering even small amounts raises new questions about how this precious resource is created and persists on the harsh, airless lunar surface.
According to NASA, Water was found in Clavius Crater, one of the Moon’s largest craters visible from Earth. The water may be delivered by tiny meteorite impacts or formed by the interaction of energetic particles ejected from the Sun.
Moreover, NASA is also planning of sending the first woman and next man to the lunar surface in 2024 under its Artemis program to learn more about the presence of water on the moon.
🌔 ICYMI... using our @SOFIATelescope, we found water on the Moon's sunlit surface for the first time. Scientists think the water could be stored inside glass beadlike structures within the soil that can be smaller than the tip of a pencil. A recap: https://t.co/lCDDp7pbcl pic.twitter.com/d3CRe96LDm
— NASA (@NASA) October 26, 2020