GLOBAL EYE
Solar wind could be making water on the Moon
SPACE
WORDS DAMIEN PINE
Showcasing the incredible world we live in Scientists reduced the brightness of stars and dust in the data to make the solar wind clearer to see
Constant gusts of particles from the Sun may be creating water molecules on the Moon, a new NASA-led experiment hints.
Scientists have detected traces of water, as well as hydroxyl (OH) molecules, a component of water, on the surface of the Moon through multiple space missions. The source of this water has long been a mystery, though some theories suggest volcanism, outgassing from deeper in lunar regolith – the combination of rock and dust on the surface of the Moon – and bombardment by tiny meteorites. The new NASA experiment tests a different idea: that solar wind is behind it all.