Buckle up, space explorers! A groundbreaking study by Chinese scientists has revealed that tiny glass beads in the Moon’s soil are hiding a precious secret: water 🚰. The discovery, made using samples from China’s Chang’e-5 mission, could rewrite our understanding of how water survives in the harsh lunar environment.
Researchers found that meteorite impacts on the Moon’s surface create glassy materials that trap hydroxyl and molecular water. These cosmic 'sponges' 💎 store H2O from multiple sources: solar wind particles blasting the surface, ancient water-rich meteorites, and even the Moon’s own native reserves!
🌞 Solar wind – streams of charged particles from the Sun – turned out to be the MVP, contributing the most to this lunar water stash. This discovery, published in Science Advances, helps explain how water persists on airless worlds – crucial info for future Moon bases and deep-space travel.
China’s Chang’e-5 mission, which brought back 1.7 kg of Moon samples in 2020, continues to deliver cosmic revelations. And with Chang’e-6 now en route to the Moon’s far side 🌚, who knows what other secrets we’ll uncover?
