NASA Discovers Water On Moon

Hope for human survival on the moon now seems more visible as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has for the first time, finally discovered water on the sunlit surface of the moon.

According to a paper published by Nature Astronomy on Monday, NASA made the discovery using its Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) which is an infrared telescope mounted inside a 747 jumbo jet, to make observations that showed clear evidence of water on parts of the moon where the sun shines.

Speaking at a news conference on Monday, the director of NASA’s astrophysics division, Paul Hertz disclosed that this new revelation revealed that water is not only at the cold, shadowed places near the lunar poles but may also be found distributed across the lunar surface.

Another group of researchers led by Paul O. Hayne, a professor of astrophysical and planetary sciences at the University of Colorado in an interview revealed on Monday that in addition to big, frigid, deep, and potentially treacherous craters in the moon’s polar regions, smaller and shallower depressions in the same areas may also be cold enough to hold onto water ice for millions, if not billions, of years, although water could be difficult to collect by astronauts over there.

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Hayne added that these small water ice deposits could be a “real game-changer,” which “could make it much more accessible to future astronauts and rover missions.” Of recent, the moon's South Pole has become a desired destination for a number of robotic missions by NASA, China, and other space programs.

Chief Exploration Scientist for NASA’s human exploration and operations directorate, Jacob Bleacher stated: “Anytime we don’t need to pack water for our trip, we have an opportunity to take other useful items with us.”

NASA's observations gotten by a flying telescope, scientists observed a wavelength of infrared light, at six microns, emitted by water molecules. The emissions were found in sunlit parts of the Clavius crater near the South Pole but not near the lunar Equator where temperatures get warmer.

This is good news for future astronauts seeking water on the moon as they may not need to go into the most treacherous craters in its polar regions to find it.