Water on Earth's Moon: Hidden within Glassy Spheres and its Potential Impact on Future Space Missions

Water on our celestial neighbor, the Moon, might be concealed within small glassy spheres formed during the cooling process of molten materials produced by asteroid impacts. This alternative source of water, which could prove invaluable for future space missions, has been identified through the study of samples taken from the Moon by the Chang'e-5 mission. Data has been published in the journal Nature Geoscience by a team of Chinese and British scientists led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Once believed to be a desolate and arid wasteland, the Moon is now known to possess a different reality. Evidence of water has emerged from the study of samples collected by the Apollo missions, which detected traces of water within minerals, and from probes in lunar orbit, which discovered the presence of water on the Moon's surface. The prevailing hypothesis suggests that the interaction of charged particles produced by solar wind with materials on the satellite's surface could give rise to water and even support a lunar water cycle. However, a genuine water reservoir on the surface has yet to be discovered.

By examining the glassy spheres collected by the Chang'e-5 mission in 2020, scientists identified water that could potentially result from the action of solar wind. Its distribution within each sphere suggests that it may accumulate through diffusion within these structures over a short period of time, only to be subsequently released. According to experts, this recharging mechanism could sustain a semblance of a water cycle on the Moon's surface.

The research concludes that the water entrapped within the glassy spheres could serve as a readily exploitable resource for lunar exploration in the coming years. This finding suggests that similar reserves may also be present in impact glass formed on other planets or satellites devoid of an atmosphere. "Our findings," explains Hu, "indicate that there may exist other objects capable of storing water."

In summary, the discovery of water within glassy spheres on the Moon has significant implications for future space missions, as it could provide a valuable resource for lunar explorers. Additionally, the presence of water in these spheres suggests that other celestial bodies may also harbor water reserves, opening up new possibilities for space exploration and colonization.