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A team of Chinese scientists have discovered traces of fresh water of impact crystals found in lunar soil by the Chang 5 (CE5) mission, according to a study published in the special journal “Nature Geoscience.”
A team led by Professor Chen Hu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered these crystals There may be a new reservoir on the moonRecord the inflow and outflow of water derived from the solar wind and act as buffers for the lunar surface water cycle.
As mentioned in the post, The surface water of this satellite arouses the interest of the scientific community due to the possibility of using it “in situ”. For future work Space exploration.
After several lunar missions confirmed the presence of structural water or ice on the moon, there is no doubt that the star has the element on its surface, even though it is much smaller than Earth.
Scientists believe that water reserves capable of withstanding the water cycle are yet to be identified. The lunar surface, that is, the satellite, retains water and cannot escape into space.
One of the Chinese team members proposed that these impact crystals, which are ubiquitous in the lunar soil, could be a candidate for investigation of these “unidentified water layers or reserves”.
Crystals collected by the Chang’e 5 mission –Landed to collect lunar samples for two days before returning to Earth in December 2020- They have “homogeneous chemical compositions and smooth surfaces”.
They are characterized by an abundance of waterAnd its composition reflects that it comes from the solar wind.
According to the researchers’ results, these impact crystals “acted like a sponge to reduce the lunar surface water cycle”.
“These findings suggest that impact crystals on the surface of the Moon and other airless bodies in the Solar System are capable of storing water derived from the solar wind and releasing it into space,” said Professor Hu.
The Chinese Academy study was done in collaboration with Nanjing UniversityOpen University, Natural History Museum, University of Manchester and University of Science and Technology of China.
