NASA confirms detection of water in one of Moon's craters: Says key for future space explorations
Houston: Taking to Twitter on October 24, NASA wrote, "Mark your calendars: We will be revealing a new discovery about the surface of the Moon from our airborne @SOFIATelescope observatory, and YOU are invited. Pencil us in for 12pm ET on Monday, Oct. 26!"
True to its word, NASA announced an exciting new discovery about the Moon from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) today.
SOFIA has discovered water in Clavius Crater, a crater located in the Moon’s southern hemisphere. Observations of the Moon’s surface earlier had detected some form of hydrogen, but this is the first time water molecules have been found. Data collected from this crater indicate presence of water in concentrations of 100 to 412 parts per million in a cubic meter of soil spread across the surface of the moon. The results are published in the latest issue of Nature Astronomy.
Paul Hertz, Director of the Astrophysics Division in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington said, "“We had indications that H2O – the familiar water we know – might be present on the sunlit side of the Moon. Now we know it is there. This discovery challenges our understanding of the lunar surface and raises intriguing questions about resources relevant for deep space exploration.”
Jim Bridenstine, the Administrator of the NASA has taken to his official Twitter handle and written, "NEWS: We confirmed water on the sunlit surface of the Moon for the 1st time using @SOFIAtelescope. We don’t know yet if we can use it as a resource, but learning about water on the Moon is key for our exploration plans."