Chinese lander finds evidence of water existence on the Moon

China's Chang'e 5 lunar lander has sent back to Earth the first in situ evidence of the existence of water on the Moon's surface.

Chinese scientists have announced that the country's Chang'e 5 (Chang'e 5) lunar lander has detected signs of water on the Moon, providing new evidence of the dryness of the moon. this planet.

Previously, Chinese probes collected and sent Moon rocks back to Earth for study

New research - published in the journal Science Advances on January 8 and peer-reviewed - shows that the lunar soil at the lander's landing site contains less than 120 ppm (parts per million) of water or the equivalent of 120g. water per ton and a light rock containing 180 ppm, much drier than on Earth.

The Chang'e 5 lander used a spectrometer to analyze the chemical composition of rocks and soil at the landing site, thereby detecting the above water concentration. This is the first time this Moon lander has detected water in place.

Lin Hong Lei, lead author of the study at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), explained that most of the water in the Moon's soil is thought to be the result of the "solar wind". ".

Because the "solar wind" brings hydrogen atoms to the surface of the Moon. Here, the hydrogen atoms react with the oxygen in the surface minerals to form water and hydroxyl.

Previous studies have investigated the presence of water on the Moon. When the American Apollo mission astronauts first returned from the Moon in 1969, this Earth's satellite was thought to be completely dry.

It was not until 2007 that scientists first discovered water molecules in the Moon rock.

In 2018, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) officially confirmed the presence of water ice in the permanently obscured craters around the Moon's poles. Two years later, the agency said water was widely distributed on the surface of the Moon.