{"id":17631,"date":"2020-10-26T20:33:13","date_gmt":"2020-10-26T12:33:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/fresh-studies-boost-hopes-for-water-on-the-moon-and-for-jeff-bezos-lunar-vision\/"},"modified":"2020-10-26T20:33:13","modified_gmt":"2020-10-26T12:33:13","slug":"fresh-studies-boost-hopes-for-water-on-the-moon-and-for-jeff-bezos-lunar-vision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/fresh-studies-boost-hopes-for-water-on-the-moon-and-for-jeff-bezos-lunar-vision\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresh studies boost hopes for water on the moon \u2014 and for Jeff Bezos\u2019 lunar vision"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_589736\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-589736\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-589736\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/201025-clavius-630x449.jpg\" alt=\"Clavius Crater\" width=\"630\" height=\"449\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/201025-clavius-630x449.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/201025-clavius-1260x898.jpg 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/201025-clavius-768x547.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/201025-clavius.jpg 1322w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-589736\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The white box indicates the area of the moon\u2019s Clavius Crater that was studied by SOFIA. (Honniball et al. \/ Nature Astronomy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Scientists have been turning up evidence for the existence of water on the moon for decades, but there\u2019s always been a nagging doubt: Maybe the source of the chemical signatures of hydrogen and oxygen was hydrated minerals, rather than H<sub>2<\/sub>O.<\/p>\n<p>Now those doubts have been eased, thanks to readings picked up by the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, also known as SOFIA. The discovery of water\u2019s signature in the moon\u2019s sunlit regions was published today in Nature Astronomy and discussed at a highly anticipated NASA news briefing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis new discovery contributes to NASA\u2019s efforts to learn about the moon in support of deep space exploration,\u201d the space agency said.<\/p>\n<p>It could also contribute to the push for eventual lunar settlement, led by NASA and commercial ventures including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin space venture. Blue Origin is already heading up an industry effort to build a lunar lander that could touch down someday in the moon\u2019s south polar region. What\u2019s more, the world\u2019s richest individual sees the moon as a key outpost in his centuries-spanning vision for expanding humanity\u2019s influence beyond Earth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think we should build a permanent human settlement on one of the poles of the moon,\u201d Bezos said back in 2017. Such settlements could help move industrial processes off Earth \u2014 so that our home planet could, in Bezos\u2019 words, be \u201czoned light industry and residential.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The findings announced today arguably represent one more small step toward that giant leap.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Jeff Bezos lays out a plan for settling the moon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YDcYdR0Sav8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>SOFIA\u2019s readings were gathered two years ago as the heavily modified Boeing 747SP jet, flew above 99% of Earth\u2019s atmosphere \u2014 a strategy that made it possible to observe the moon in the right infrared wavelengths.<\/p>\n<p>A research team led by Casey Honniball of NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center analyzed the spectral characteristics of the infrared light in the 6-micron band, and identified a chemical signature that can be found only in molecular water rather than in hydrated minerals.<\/p>\n<p>They estimate that the concentration of H<sub>2<\/sub>O at the surface is about 300 or 400 parts per million at high southern latitudes. Honniball said that\u2019s roughly equivalent to a 12-ounce bottle of water in each cubic meter of surface soil.<\/p>\n<p>In their Nature Astronomy paper, the researchers stressed that the moon doesn\u2019t have water, water everywhere. \u201cWe find that the distribution of water over the small latitude range is a result of local geology and is probably not a global phenomenon,\u201d they said. But the distribution, at least within the area of Clavius Crater that SOFIA studied, appears to be wider than previously thought.<\/p>\n<p>Scientists have long suspected that water ice might be accumulating in permanently shadowed regions of the moon, but SOFIA\u2019s readings suggest flecks of water could be found within the soil of the moon\u2019s sunlit regions as well.<\/p>\n<p>Based on previous studies of the moon\u2019s surface conditions, the researchers say the water detected by SOFIA almost certainly \u201cresides within the interior of lunar grains, or is trapped between grains shielded from the harsh lunar environment.\u201d They go on to speculate that the water could have been delivered to the moon by meteorite impacts, or liberated from water-bearing minerals by such impacts.<\/p>\n<p>Knowing that honest-to-goodness H<sub>2<\/sub>O exists on the moon, at least near the south pole, should boost NASA\u2019s confidence as the space agency proceeds with plans to send astronauts to that region starting as soon as 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Extracting lunar water is seen as a key requirement for supplying lunar operations with drinkable water, breathable air and locally produced energy. Theoretically, H<sub>2<\/sub>O can be converted through electrolysis into hydrogen and oxygen, which can in turn power fuel cells and rockets.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"The Race to Mine the Moon Is Taking Off, Here's What's Coming\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5vbiiI2Y7_Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The newly published findings suggest that extracting the water won\u2019t be as easy as melting down ice cubes. Learning how to get to the moon\u2019s water will be a key task for NASA\u2019s VIPER rover, which is due for launch to the south lunar polar region in 2023. (European researchers have their own concept for a rover mission to the moon\u2019s polar regions, known as LUVMI-X.)<\/p>\n<p>Another study published today in Nature Astronomy focused on the sorts of places where lunar water is most likely to persist: those permanently shadowed parts of the polar regions. These are places where the sun doesn\u2019t shine, resulting in temperatures that always stay low enough to keep the water frozen in the ground.<\/p>\n<p>This research team, led by Paul Hayne of the University of Colorado\u2019s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, analyzed imagery from NASA\u2019s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to determine just how much of the moon\u2019s surface never sees the sun.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur results suggest that water trapped at the lunar poles may be more widely distributed and accessible as a resource for future missions than previously thought,\u201d the researchers write.<\/p>\n<p>Most of the water-bearing areas come in the form of \u201cmicro cold traps\u201d \u2014 patches of terrain that are less than a yard (a meter) in width. But there are also cold traps that measure more than 6 miles (10 kilometers) in width, particularly in the south polar region.<\/p>\n<p>The cold traps in the south are thought to add up to about 23,000 square kilometers, which covers as much territory as the state of New Jersey. The cold-trapping areas in the north polar region are estimated to total 17,000 square kilometers, which exceeds Connecticut\u2019s area.<\/p>\n<p>Those micro cold traps may sound as if they\u2019re too small to bother with, but Hayne and his colleagues say they might actually be the best places to visit. \u201cIf water is found in micro cold traps, the sheer number and topographic accessibility of these locales would facilitate future human and robotic exploration of the moon,\u201d they write.<\/p>\n<p><em>In addition to Honniball, the authors of \u201cMolecular Water Detected on the Sunlit Moon by SOFIA\u201d include P.G Lucey, S. Li, S. Shenoy, T.M. Orlando, C.A. Hibbitts, D.M. Hurley and W.M. Farrell. In addition to Hayne, the authors of \u201cMicro Cold Traps on the Moon\u201d include O. Aharonson and N. Sch\u00f6rghofer.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>This is an edited version of a report published on Cosmic Log.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The white box indicates the area of the moon\u2019s Clavius Crater that was studied by SOFIA. (Honniball et al. \/ Nature Astronomy) Scientists have been turning up evidence for the existence of water on the moon for decades, but there\u2019s always been a nagging doubt: Maybe the source of the chemical signatures of hydrogen and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[625,190,2031],"class_list":["post-17631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-moon","tag-nasa","tag-sofia"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17631"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17631\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}