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Thursday, July 10, 2008

 

Water Found on the Moon

‘Though the moon has many seas, scientists thought it was dry.

They were wrong.

In a study published today in Nature, researchers led by Brown University geologist Alberto Saal found evidence of water molecules in pebbles retrieved by NASA’s Apollo missions.

The findings point to the existence of water deep beneath the moon’s surface, transforming scientific understanding of our nearest neighbor’s formation and, perhaps, our own. There may also be a more immediately practical application.

“Is there water there? That’s important for lunar missions. People could get the water. They could use the hydrogen for energy,” said Saal.

[..] a high-powered imaging technique known as secondary ion mass spectrometry revealed a wealth of so-called volatile compounds, among them fluorine, chlorine, sulfur, carbon dioxide — and water.’




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