New Source of Lunar Water Found By Chinese Scientists in Tiny Glass Beads

"The moon's surface contains a new source of water found embedded in microscopic glass beads, which might one day help future astronauts produce drinking water, breathable air and even rocket fuel, scientists say.

The findings come from a Chinese rover that spent two weeks on the moon in 2020. The Chang'e 5 rover drilled several feet into the lunar surface and returned 3.7 pounds of material, among which were the glass beads from an impact crater, according to a paper published Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience.

The moon's surface is covered with tiny spherical beads of silicate glass. Some of the glass beads formed when asteroids slammed into the moon, while others are the result of ancient volcanic activity on the lunar surface, both of which occurred millions of years ago.

In their Beijing laboratory, scientists from Chinese institutions examined a handful of the microscopic spheres using a special instrument called a secondary ion mass spectrometer that analyzes solid surfaces with a beam of ions, and discovered water embedded inside, according to the study.

The water is the result of a chemical reaction between oxygen in the beads and hydrogen emitted from the sun that is transported to the moon's surface by solar winds and deposited into the soil.

While the amount of water is tiny in each bead, there are a lot of beads on the moon -- enough for an estimated 270 trillion kilograms of water, according to the study. That is the equivalent of 71 trillion gallons.

"Our direct measurements of this surface reservoir of lunar water show that impact glass beads can store substantial quantities of solar wind-derived water on the moon and suggest that impact glass may be water reservoirs on other airless bodies," the authors wrote. The researchers think other moons in the solar system might also have such a water reservoir." [1]

1. U.S. News: New Source of Lunar Water Found in Tiny Glass Beads
Niiler, Eric.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 28 Mar 2023: A.3.