China Chang’e-5 The lunar lander has found water on the lunar surface. This is the first time that on-site scientists have found evidence of the substance on Earth’s satellite. In a study published in Scientific advances, Chinese researchers claim the lander detected signs of water molecules or hydroxyl, a close chemical relative of H2O. Chang’e-5 used a spectrometer to analyze the composition of regolith in the immediate vicinity of his landing site. It found that most of the soil has a water concentration of less than 120ppm, making Luna’s surface much drier than Earth’s.
Honglei-Lin et al.
Chinese scientists believe that most of the molecules got to the moon through a process called solar wind implantation. Charged particles from the sun drove hydrogen atoms to the surface of the moon, where they later combined with oxygen to form water and hydroxyl. The study builds on findings from NASA published in 2018 when it found evidence of water on the moon’s sunlit surfaces using an airborne infrared telescope. For decades, scientists believed that the moon was completely dry because of its almost non-existent atmosphere. Without an atmosphere, it was thought that there was nothing that could protect the water molecules from the harsh rays of the sun.
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