Not All Moon Water Alike, Says Scientist

Following the discovery last year of trace amounts of water on the moon, scientists have been analyzing the data returned by probes mapping the lunar surface, and have determined that different forms of water compounds exist there.

This indication that water on the Moon comes from different sources - accounting for the varying organic compounds contained within - is reported in Space.com.

Measurements from India's Chandrayaan-1 moon probe (which found frozen water in 40 craters) and from NASA's recent Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission (which slammed into the moon last October to test soil content from the resulting impact plume and found additional water) suggest that three different varieties of lunar water have been identified.

Paul Spudis of Houston's Lunar and Planetary Institute told Space.com that in addition to nearly pure ice, there is also a "fluffy mix of ice crystals and dirt" found by LCROSS. Instruments on Chandrayaan-1 also detected a thin layer of water that "comes and goes" across the surface.

The initial impact of LCROSS released water and hydroxyl, with small bits of pure ice mixed in, from the surface layer. Beneath that, water from a deeper layer was released, likely from a much earlier time period.

That water, Spudis said, contains more water ice, in addition to a variety of molecular compounds - sulfur dioxide (SO2), methanol (CH3OH), and diacetylene (H2C4).
This layer, at least one-half-meter below the surface, "is probably older than the ice we're finding on the surface," he said.

While some surface water likely comes from bodies that have impacted the moon over the eons - comets, for example, which are primarily ice - Spudis told Space.com that some water might be formed on the moon.

"Protons in the solar wind can make small amounts of water continuously on the lunar surface by interacting with metal oxides in the rocks," he said.


For more info:
LCROSS
Mini-RF Overview - Mapping the Lunar Surface
Moon Mineralogy Mapper
Moon and Mars (nasa.gov)

[Jomoonwater]

www.bottleofmoonwater.com

Stupendous!!

[rwsmith29456]

If I dip water out of the Atlantic, the Pacific, a Yellowstong geyser or a mine quarry there are going to be differences.

[GSKB]

I think scientist are speculating with bits of truth. Water was always plentiful, even when the earth was formed. It was very prevalent when matter was being formed. It isn't a surprise that it is found on the moon because it was in great abundance at the forming of matter and space. It may have combined with other elements or its molecular structure under certian conditioned could have broken down, but it will be found in great abundance in space. I think scientist needs to find another theory on the orgin of the moon or how water got there.

[Clark Nova]

The 'how and when' of the moon's creation is pretty much settled. Earth got slammed by a mars-sized body 4.53 billion years ago. The debris was coalesced by gravitational forces into the moon. There used to be 5 serious theories of lunar formation but the evidence keeps stacking up in favor of this one and against the others.

What's really interesting is the similarity between comet water and earth water, indicating a cometary origin for the oceans.

[rf35]

Yes, that is the top contender for "how," but as with any theory, there is always the possibility that it will evolve and be refined as new evidence is accumulated. The "when," however, is still scattered over a sizable range even for geologic timescales.

[Jim1900]

The last I heard was that due to the dissimilarities of the isotopes, comet water could account for less than half of earth's water. Apparently the rest comes from the rocks from which the earth was formed.

[RedWings_ninety_one]

How do you get "different water"? Unless it's contaminated, it's not water if it's different. Mabe the shape is different, I don't know, but you can't get "different water".

[Clark Nova]

Different ratios of the various isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen, of course.

[kenhamlett]

I hope info like this keeps coming through in the mainstream press. While Joe Public may not realize how important this is now, they need the raw information followed by an education on the ramifications.
We are in a new era but we have yet to wake up and acnouledge it.

[rf35]

"fluffy mix of ice crystals and dirt" found by LCROSS.


No kidding! The thing slammed into the surface and they didn't expect dirt to be mixed with the ice?
I would have be shocked if all the moon's water was the same. The moon is constantly being bombarded by comet fragments and may have been hit by full-on comets in the past. How could anyone expect all the ice to be chemically identical? The more valid question would be, "what percentage of lunar water is identical to water found on Earth?" That may give new insight as to how and when the moon was created.