On December 31, 2020, China’s Chang’e 5 spacecraft mission made history, becoming the first mission to retrieve samples from the moon since the Soviet Union in 1976.
The mission has made even more headlines after Chang’e 5 published an unlikely finding: evidence of a substantial water reservoir in the moon’s soil.
According to findings from last week, Chang’e 5 detected hydrogen and oxygen in the lunar soil, which suggested that a water reservoir had been identified. Early analysis shows that the amount of water contained in the moon’s soil is at least 0.04 percent, or approximately two tablespoons worth of water.
This discovery could represent a major breakthrough in our understanding of the moon’s origin, as well as a potential major boon to potential astronauts who wish to explore the moon.
The Chinese mission was able to detect the presence of water because of a technique called laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, which was used to scan the moon’s surface. This sophisticated method enables researchers to analyze a particular object without damaging it, making it ideal for exploring the moon’s surface without any chance of accidentally altering the sample.
The surface of the moon is covered in regolith, a layer of rocks and dust. But beneath this layer, there may be a vast underground water reservoir. It’s believed that this water was deposited there millions of years ago, when comets and meteors shot through space, leaving water in their wake.
The success of the Chang’e 5 mission represents a major achievement in lunar exploration, and its results will no doubt pave the way for future missions to uncover more details about the evolution of the moon and its potential for supporting life.
For now, this discovery of a potential water reservoir on the moon is a significant breakthrough that could bring us closer to understanding the evolution of our own planet–and, perhaps, make future trips to the moon more feasible.
