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NASA with significant moon discovery - central importance for future in the universe

2020-10-29T20:59:59.901Z


Two new studies are fundamentally changing our understanding of the moon. The new knowledge could be of central importance for further space missions.


Two new studies are fundamentally changing our understanding of the moon.

The new knowledge could be of central importance for further space missions.

  • Two new

    studies are

    fundamentally

    changing our knowledge of the existence of

    water

    on the

    moon

    .

  • The new findings have important implications for the planning of

    manned expeditions to the moon

    .

  • The results were published in the

    journal

    Nature Astronomy

    .

Washington DC - It is a very special

discovery

that was announced by

NASA

on Monday (October 27th): On the

moon

there are probably much larger water resources than previously assumed.

This discovery was made possible by “

Sofia

” - a modified

Boeing

747SP

jet airliner equipped with a 106-inch telescope that

flies at an altitude of up to 13,700 meters.

This enables the

aircraft

to leave behind the water vapor in the earth's atmosphere

, which

interferes with measurements.

The flying observatory is a joint project of the

US space agency NASA

* and the

German Aerospace Center (DLR)

.

As announced on Monday (October 26th), a team of researchers led by the scientist Casey Honnuball was able to use this aircraft to

detect

molecular

water

on the surface of the

moon

during a measurement flight on August 31, 2018

.

The special thing is that the molecular water was

detected

in the area of ​​the

moon

, which is

illuminated

by the

sun

.

The measurements were carried out at the

crater Clavius

- the second largest crater visible from Earth - in the southern highlands of the moon.

Exploring the Moon - New Study Detects Water Molecules

We just announced that - for the first time - we've confirmed H2O💧 in sunlit☀️ areas of the Moon.

This indicates that water might be distributed across the lunar surface.

https://t.co/Gn0DSu5K95

- NASA Moon (@NASAMoon) October 26, 2020

The

researchers

concerned

report in detail

about their discovery

in the journal

"Nature Astronomy"

.

The water molecules could be detected in tiny glass spheres and between the grains of the moon dust.

The concentration of the molecules is very low, but nonetheless: For the first time, water could be detected in an area illuminated by the sun, in which it is up to 120 degrees Celsius.

A clear comparison was also provided: “The amount of water that 'Sofia' discovered corresponds to the contents of a 0.33 liter beverage can, spread over the surface of a soccer field,” explains project scientist at

DLR space management Alessandra Roy

.

This discovery could have far-reaching implications for other

space missions

.

The

USA

,

China

and

Russia

are planning

to return

to the

moon

with humans

.

The

NASA

plan to do so within the framework of the

"Artemis" program

already for the middle of the decade (2024).

Whether this will be implemented, however, also depends on the outcome of the

presidential election

on November 2nd.

The detection of water is of particular interest because the

resources that exist

on the

moon

could be used

for such an expedition

.

Transporting it from the

earth

would be very costly.

Water on the moon - new knowledge important for planned space missions

The discovery of water as part of the

research project

described is

preceded by a series of studies that have already given indications that there is water on the

moon

.

On the one hand, research into the lunar rock that the "Apollo" brought to earth made it possible to detect a small amount of water.

On the other hand, the space probes "

Chandrayaan-1

", "

Deep Impact

" and "

Cassini

" have discovered indications of the existence of water on the

moon

.

At that time, however, a problem arose: the measurements could not distinguish between water molecules, which consist of two hydrogen and one oxygen atoms, and hydroxyl radicals, which only consist of one hydrogen and one oxygen atom.

The reason was the type of measurement: a wavelength of infrared radiation was used that does not allow any distinction.

For the latest

measurement

, the “

Sofia

stratospheric telescope was used

and a wavelength was used with which water molecules could be unequivocally detected.

"Now we know it's there," commented the director of the astrophysics department in the directorate for science missions at NASA headquarters in Washington - Paul Hertz - on this.

NEWS: We confirmed water on the sunlit surface of the Moon for the 1st time using @SOFIAtelescope.

We don't know yet if we can use it as a resource, but learning about water on the Moon is key for our #Artemis exploration plans.

Join the media telecon at https://t.co/vOGoSHt74c pic.twitter.com/7p2QopMhod

- Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) October 26, 2020

NASA with new findings - more water than expected on the moon

Why there is

water

at all

in areas that are

illuminated

by the

sun

has not been clarified beyond all doubt.

However, there are several

theories

.

Actually, it should evaporate from the sun's rays.

On the one hand, it is assumed that small amounts of water

that is deposited in the rock reach

the

moon

via micrometeorites

.

It is also believed that larger impacts on the moon's surface carry water from deeper layers of the moon to the surface.

The solar wind could also bring hydrogen atoms to the moon, where they become water molecules.

It has been known for a long time that there is water in the form of ice *, especially at the south pole of the moon.

It is located there in so-called "cold traps" - places that are permanently in shadow, such as the inside of lunar craters.

There are also new findings on this topic: In a new article in “

Nature Astronomy”

, researchers led by

Paul Hayne

report

that larger areas than previously thought could be cold traps.

It is assumed that the

water

existing at the lunar poles is

more widespread than previously thought.

In total, around 40,000 square meters of the moon's surface could serve as "cold traps".

This is particularly

relevant

in connection with the planned manned

lunar expeditions

: their implementation would be made easier if the astronauts

could use

water

on the

moon

.

at * fr.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network.

List of rubric lists: © Soeren Stache / dpa

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2020-10-29

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