The Geekinator

There are all kinds of shlocky sci-fi movies involving space travelers finding creatures (who, amazingly enough, often looked just like us! except for the gold/green/red/whatever skin) living on or, usually, in the Moon. While that remains the fantasy is always was, the thought of people in the future being able to colonize the Moon has become slightly more realistic.

In a study published today in Nature, researchers led by Brown University geologist Alberto Saal found evidence of water molecules in pebbles retrieved by NASA's Apollo missions.

The findings point to the existence of water deep beneath the moon's surface, transforming scientific understanding of our nearest neighbor's formation and, perhaps, our own. There may also be a more immediately practical application.

"Is there water there? That's important for lunar missions. People could get the water. They could use the hydrogen for energy," said Saal. ...

[A] high-powered imaging technique known as secondary ion mass spectrometry revealed a wealth of so-called volatile compounds, among them fluorine, chlorine, sulfur, carbon dioxide - and water.

Critically, telltale hydrogen molecules were concentrated at the center of samples rather than their surfaces, assuring Saal's team that water was present in an infant moon rather than added by recent bombardment. ...

"Could a colony use the water? That's like asking the final score of a football game in the first five minutes of the first quarter," said Saal. "But at least we know there's a game on."

The leading hypothesis of the formation of the Moon is that a Mars-sized asteroid struck the Earth during the early period of the formation of the solar system, about 4.5 billion years ago. The impact blasted off a mass of debris that coalesced into the Moon. Saal noted that the discovery about water opens up several different lines of study, including effects on surface mineralogy and the source of the water: If it came from Earth, it means there was already water here when the Moon was formed, which could change ideas about the Earth's development. If it didn't come from Earth, from where did it come?

The Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, both scheduled for launch late this year, should provide valuable additional data.