Scientists discover water rich in mineral grains for the first time on the moon with the help of data gathered from NASA's instruments aboard the Indian spacecraft Chandrayaan-1.
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory used data from NASA's instrument aboard the Indian spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 and discovered the presence of mineral-rich, magmatic water (water that originates from deep within the Moon's interior) on the lunar surface.
"For many years, researchers believed that the rocks from the moon were bone-dry and any water detected in the Apollo samples had to be contamination from Earth," said Rachel Klima, a planetary geologist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in a press release. "About five years ago, new laboratory techniques used to investigate lunar samples revealed that the interior of the Moon is not as dry as we previously thought. Around the same time, data from orbital spacecraft detected water on the lunar surface, which is thought to be a thin layer formed from solar wind hitting the lunar surface."
NASA's M3 (NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper) was placed aboard the Indian Space Research Organisation's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft in 2009. It gained pictures of the lunar impact crater Bullialdus, which is not in a favorable location for the solar-wind to produce significant surface water. The rocks in the center of the crater are known as norite. These rocks crystallize when magma levels rise but instead of erupting get trapped underground.
The new discovery was made after researchers studied data obtained by M3, which provided information about the Moon's volcanic processes and internal composition. According to Klima, this new discovery facilitates the testing of some of the findings from sample studies in a broader context, including in regions that are far from where the Apollo sites are clustered on the near side of the Moon.
"This impressive research confirms earlier lab analyses of Apollo samples, and will help broaden our understanding of how this water originated and where it might exist in the lunar mantle," said NLSI Director Yvonne Pendleton.
