Water Possibly Found on Moon

A NASA spacecraft has discovered what appears to be ample amounts of water on the moon--opening the possibility of moon colonies, complete with refueling bases for solar system exploration.

Scientists at NASA Ames Research Center, the human power behind the discovery, were ecstatic over the dramatic data sent from their Lunar Prospector spacecraft, which is orbiting 60 miles above the moon. “It’s a wish come true,” said William Feldman, co-investigator on several instruments carried by the spacecraft.

“I can hardly contain my joy,” Scott Hubbard, mission manager at Ames, said Thursday at a news conference.

Although the water is frozen into ice crystals sprinkled sparsely at the frigid north and south poles of the moon, its potential for boosting space exploration within the solar system is enormous. Mainly, it means that astronauts could distill moon water into liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen fuel, “like making moonshine,” said principal investigator Alan Binder--providing energy for a return trip without carrying fuel from Earth.

“For the first time, we can go to another planetary body and fuel up,” he said.

Moreover, the water--tentatively estimated at between 10 million and 300 million tons--could be used to support permanent space colonies. “That’s an awful lot of water,” Binder said. “What it means is that human life can expand to the moon.”

Such a giant step would not come easily, however. For one thing, the ice crystals probably lie deep inside dark craters in the moon’s coldest crevices--areas with permanent temperatures well below minus 200 degrees. “One problem is getting machinery to work at such low temperatures,” Binder said.

Another obstacle is convincing the public to fund such a project. As Binder pointed out, plans were already afoot to put a science base on the moon after the Apollo landings 25 years ago. “If we’d wanted to, we could already be there,” he said. “It’s a matter of interest and priorities.”

Lunar Prospector did not directly observe water molecules, or even its component atoms--two hydrogens for each oxygen. Instead, one of the six instruments on board the 4-foot-long, 633-pound craft measured ratios of nuclear particles called neutrons moving at different energies.

Because neutrons pack the same mass as hydrogen nuclei, a neutron colliding with hydrogen would slow down abruptly, like a billiard ball hitting another billiard ball of the same size. By measuring the relative amounts of slow neutrons to faster ones, the researchers deduced that they saw the distinct signature of hydrogen, suggestive of water.

In order to be 100% certain it’s water, Binder conceded, robots would have to land on the moon’s surface, scoop up soil samples, heat them up and see if water evaporates off them. Still, he said he was certain enough of the results to bet his house on them.

“We have found water at both lunar poles,” he said. Exactly how much water, however, is still in question, although there appears to be twice as much at the north pole as at the south. “The findings are correct,” Binder said. “The numbers are preliminary.”

The findings, presented at Thursday’s news briefing, were the first from the Lunar Prospector, which has been orbiting the moon for nearly two months.

Researchers are still in the process of analyzing the first month’s data. Until two weeks ago, Binder said, they were convinced that there was no water on the moon. But after collecting more data and learning to understand their instruments better, the scientists came to a quite different conclusion.

If the current interpretation is correct, there could be enough water on the moon to sustain thousands of people for a hundred years. All told, the water would fill a lake 4 square miles in area and 35 feet deep.

And there could be even more--if the loose soil containing the ice crystals goes deeper than the scientists estimate. “Are we looking at the tip of the ice?” Hubbard asked. Either way, “the implications could be profound.” he said.

Naturally dry, the moon got its water, scientists think, from comets that crashed into its surface over the past 2 billion years. Most of that water immediately evaporated into space. The moon’s gravity is too puny to hold onto an atmosphere that could contain water.

Apollo astronauts, who landed near the moon’s equator, brought back moon rocks bearing no signs of water.

However, water molecules that somehow hopped over the dry surface to land in permanently shadowed craters at the lunar poles could have stayed and stuck.

Pinning down exactly which craters hold the ice will have to wait until the end of the mission, when Prospector will lower its orbit for a closer look. For now, the scientists are looking at “a huge area” about a hundred miles across, Binder said. “We will not be able to isolate individual craters until the extended mission.”

And true confirmation will have to await robotic missions. In the meantime, Lunar Prospector is equipped to make many more discoveries about the moon’s current makeup, its origins and its relation to Earth.

Although scientists do not agree on exactly how the moon formed, most now believe that it condensed from material blasted off Earth billions of years ago by an object the size of Mars--making our satellite a true “chip off the old block.” It has been drifting away from Earth ever since. Just how it got its lumpy magnetic fields, and its uneven crust, are some of the mysteries Prospector will try to shed light on.

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Steppingstone to the Stars?

Scientists said Thursday they have found what appears to be ice deep in shadowy craters on the moon, a discovery that could make Earth’s nearest neighbor a steppingstone to further space exploration.

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DELIVERED BY COMET

The lunar water may have come from impacts with comets. “The moon was born dry. The water was added,” a NASA scientist said.

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FROZEN POLES

Only the pole’s craters are cold enough to freeze and retain the water. Six manned missions to the moon were mainly in the equatorial area.

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NEAR SIDE OF MOON (ICE FOUND AT POLES)

Poles: -200 degrees Fahrenheit

Equator: 250 degrees Fahrenheit

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ABOUT THE LUNAR PROSPECTOR

Launched: Jan. 6

Mission length: About one year

Size: 4 feet long, 633 pounds

Next up: Spacecraft will map and collect data on the composition of the lunar surface, look for natural resources that could be used in a lunar base, and measure tectonic, volcanic, magnetic and gravitational activity.

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SIGNIFICANCE

“[There is] an awful lot of water. What it means is that human life can expand to the moon.”

--Principal Investigator Alan Binder

Sources: NASA, Times wire reports, World Book Encyclopedia

Researched by NONA YATES / Los Angeles Times