WATER produced on Earth has been found on the Moon.
The water wasn’t left behind by astronauts, it was pulled across space and came to rest on the Moon.
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Water molecules have been escaping Earth and landing on the Moon for billions of years, according to a study published in March.
Hydrogen and oxygen ions on the Moon come from the Earth’s atmosphere – not its lakes or oceans.
Based on reporting by Science Alert, the grid of Earth’s magnetosphere can be broken by wind from the Sun, leaving strands of charged particles fluttering behind the Earth.
When the Moon passes through the Earth’s magnetosphere, the broken strands repair and escaped hydrogen and oxygen ions rush back to Earth – and get intercepted by the Moon in transit.
The total volume of frozen and liquid water on the Moon is enough to fill Lake Huron.
The ions become liquid water when burrowed through pores in the Moon’s cratered surface and form “large subsurface liquid water reservoirs.”
Water on the Moon likely came from many places, including icy asteroids pelting the surface, solar winds marrying oxygen molecules in the lunar surface and researchers latest theory of absorption from Earth’s atmosphere.
The water on the Moon is mostly concentrated at the poles, which are difficult to access because of the rugged terrain and communication issues that arise from not facing the Earth.
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The next decade of space exploration will bring intense transformation to man’s relationship with the cosmos.
Harvesting the water on the Moon will be crucial in sustaining a lunar colony for humans to live on and research from.
In 2024, astronauts will venture to the lunar South Pole in an effort to determine exactly where the Artemis Base Camp should be situated.
“As NASA’s Artemis team plans to build a base camp on the moon’s south pole, the water ions that originated many eons ago on Earth can be used in the astronauts’ life support system,” a research director said.
Based on the new study, the Moon is absorbing hydrogen and oxygen ions from the Earth’s atmosphere for five days of every month.
Billions of years later, life on Earth might be advanced enough to take advantage of our accumulated water on the Moon.
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