According To Researchers, Glass Beads On The Moon Contain Water

There may be a brand-new water reservoir on the moon, according to researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Geology and Geophysics.

The team of researchers, headed by Prof. HU Sen, discovered that lunar soils discovered in the impact glass collected by the spacecraft contain water. The soils were recovered during the Chinese Chang’e-5 lunar mission in 2020.

According to HU, “These results show that the impact glasses on the moon’s surface and other airless bodies in the solar system are capable of storing and releasing water from the solar wind into space.”

According to the study, which was published in the journal Nature, the so-called impact glass beads that are produced when a meteorite strikes the surface of the moon can contain a lot of water.

It has been suggested that lunar soils contain a layer of water at a depth that acts as a buffer for a worldwide water cycle. The study notes that a reservoir for this hydrated layer has not yet been found.

According to recent studies, solar wind exposure causes asteroids to emit oxygen, which can mix with solar wind hydrogen ions to form water. This process’s residue is known as “solar wind-derived water.”

“The impact glass beads exhibit water abundance profiles that are consistent with the inward diffusion of water generated from solar wind and persist hydration signatures. At a temperature of 360 K, diffusion modeling predicts timescales of less than 15 years, the experts said.

The researchers continued, “Such short diffusion timescales suggest an effective water recharge mechanism that could sustain the lunar surface water cycle.” On the moon, impact glass beads can hold a significant amount of solar wind-derived water, which raises the possibility that impact glass could serve as water reservoirs on other airless worlds.

According To Researchers, Glass Beads On The Moon Contain Water

There may be a brand-new water reservoir on the moon, according to researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Geology and Geophysics.

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