On March 27th, the scientifi c journal Nature Geoscience published a st udy by the Chinese Science Academy that analyzed parts of the Moon and showed that our natural satellite is full of small spheres of glass with water inside.

The study also had access to close to 1.7 kilos of material collected from the moon by the Chang’e5 probe in 2020. Some of the samples were extracted from one meter below the ground.

Scientists already knew about the existence of water on the Moon, but some aspects were not clear yet. Up to then, for example, there had been no evidence of how water was stored, since the satellite does not have clouds like the Earth does. The new study showed that the glass spheres act like sponges that absorb humidity and store water.

The study also points out that the glass formed after space rocks collided violently with the lunar surface. It is estimated that close to 270 billion tons of water are stored in glass (one ton is equal to one thousand kilos).

Extraction

As soon as the discovery was announced, people started to think about how to extract water from the natural satellite. Professionals at the Chinese Science Academy believe that the water on the Moon could benefit astronauts who are there on longer missions and could serve as raw material for rockets. The most acceptable theory up to now is that water could be obtained by heating the glass beads to 100°C.

“Water is the most sought-after commodity for enabling sustainable exploration of planetary surfaces,” said Sen Hu, one of the authors of the study during an interview to the DW news agency. “Knowing how water is produced, stored and replenished near the lunar surface would be very useful for future explorers,” he added. It is not yet known if this water is safe to drink.

Sources: El País, G1, National Geographic, Nature Geoscience, Terra, and UOL.

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