Scientists confirm that ice exists on the Moon

NASA's image spectrum device first detected ice inside the craters at the poles of the Moon.

An international team of scientists, led by Dr. Shuai Li from the University of Hawaii, USA and Richard Elphic from NASA's Ames Research Center yesterday announced the discovery of solid evidence of the existence of ice. on the surface of the Moon , based on data collected from NASA's research device Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), Phys reported.

Much of the ice is found at the poles of the Moon.(Photo: NASA).

The ice is found mainly inside the craters at both ends of the Moon, where temperatures are extremely cold (never exceed -157 ° C). Besides, because the Moon's rotation axis is very small, these regions never receive light directly from the Sun.

The sign of the ice's existence on the Moon has been predicted by scientists for many years, based on indirect studies such as the reflection of unusual light of the Lunar soil. However, this is the first time scientists have found direct evidence of the presence of ice on the surface.

The team used the M3 image spectrometer on the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, which was launched by NASA in 2008. The device not only collected data related to the reflective properties of the tape but also measured. the amount of infrared light absorbed by ice molecules. Thus, it can distinguish liquid water, ice and steam.

Scientists have not yet determined the exact amount of ice that exists at the poles of the Moon, because the M3 image spectrometer can only detect ice on several millimeters of surface, Dr Li said. If this amount of ice is large enough, they can be exploited as a source of water for future Lunar expeditions.