The Latest Find On The Moon Leaves Mankind With One Secret Less In Its Unending Quest To Unspool The Universe

Will Moon Turn From A Barren Site To Our Base Camp in Space?

 Intimately woven into the rich love-lore of India and many other cultures, observed by scientists for four centuries, its rocks analyzed for over four decades, the Moon has finally given up one of its most tantalizing mysteries and given mankind’s quest for understanding the cosmos an electrifying fillip.

India’s Chandrayaan, before dying an early death last August, captured enough infrared images in one of its equipment to confirm that there is water on the Moon. Water exists on many bodies in our solar system. But finding it on our own moon is breathtaking. It adds to our knowledge of how cosmic processes work. And, it may open the way to utilizing the water on moon for making hydrogen and oxygen — the first needed for fuel and the second for life. Thus the possibility of using the Moon as a base camp for space exploration inches a wee bit closer.

What about moon-life? The mere existence of water does not lead to any possibility of life existing on Moon, although more study will be needed to see if in the past, some simple life-like forms could have evolved. With almost no atmosphere, constant exposure to high energy solar winds and repeatedly a victim of cosmic hit-and-run, the likelihood is remote.

 As our most nearest celestial neighbour, the Moon has been subject to close investigation from the beginning of space exploration half a century ago. It was also the first celestial body where man landed in 1969. Most early explorations appeared to confirm that the Moon was a dry rocky body. With its gravity only one-sixth of earth, it has no atmosphere — the envelope of gases and water vapour that surrounds the earth and many other bodies in the universe. As a result, any water would have long been lost in space.

 This consensus of a barren, waterless Moon came under increasing doubt, starting with the 1994 Clementine mission, followed by the Cassini flyby in 1999 and the Lunar Reconnaissance Observer in 2008. But, Chandrayaan’s observations have finally clinched the issue.

 So, where does this water come from? There are two theories. One is that comets and meteorites brought it there. About 3.9 billion years ago, the Earth and Moon both suffered a long period of bombardment from meteorites and comets, giving the Moon its characteristic pock-marked features. The comets might have left water on the surface. The bulk lost but some still remains.

 The other theory is it is created on the surface by the impact of solar winds. The sun sends out a stream of hydrogen ions or protons, which hit moon at a speed of about 100,000 km/second. The surface is made of rocks and dust roughly containing 40% oxygen. The high-speed collisions free up oxygen, some of which join s up with hydrogen. This oxygen-hydrogen pair can attract another hydrogen ion to form water.

Chandrayaan images show although water is present mostly at the poles, it is also thinly spread over the surface till about 10 degrees south and north. It appears the water evaporates as the sun heats up the Moon’s surface in daytime (one moon-day is about three weeks!) and condenses back in the night. In some of the polar craters, where sunlight has not reached for the past 2-3 billion years, the water will exist as ice, since the temperatures are about (-) 240 degrees Celsius. Discovery of a molecular sheath of moisture on the lunar surface is still a long way from any practical utilization. But humans can see eternity in a grain of sand, as poet William Blake said long ago. Who knows, but one day there may be a bustling camp on our Moon, where only twelve men have set foot till now.

How, Where, What Of H2O

 Theory 1

Comets and meteorites brought it. Some 3.9 billion years ago, Earth and Moon were routinely bombarded by them. The comets might have left water on the Moon’s surface — most of it is lost, some remains

Theory 2

Impact of solar winds. Sun sends out a stream of hydrogen ions or protons hitting Moon at 100,000 m/sec. The surface is made of rocks and dust containing 40% oxygen. The collisions free up oxygen, some of which combines with hydrogen

Proof |

Chandrayaan shows water is present mostly at the poles but it is also thinly spread over the surface, till about 10 degrees south and north