When the LCROSS probe bashed into the moon October 9th, it sent an unassuming plume of lunar surface puffing off into space. In that puff, LCROSS found the gold medal of space travel: water. And a lot of it.
"I'm here today to tell you that indeed, yes, we found water. And we didn't find just a little bit; we found a significant amount," said project scientist Anthony Colaprete at a press conference on Friday. He estimated the amount to be a dozen, two-gallon bucketfuls.
NASA's plan of action was simple: find a dark region of the moon and smash a probe into it. Perhaps not the most elegant of experiments, but undeniably effective. The darkness was key—scientists were searching for a spot on the moon that hadn't seen harsh sunlight in billions of years. They chose the Cabeus cater, part of which is always cast in shadow, located near the moon's south pole.
LCROSS actually caused two plumes: the first upon initial impact that sent up the fine lunar dust that covers the surface and a second one of heavier materials buried beneath the surface. Once the material was ejected from the surface, LCROSS began inspection with its spectrometers.
Every chemical gives off a distinct pattern of light which a spectrometer can measure. These patterns, or spectra, look like the graphs created to show the rise and fall of a stock, full of peaks and valleys. When a sample of a material is taken in the field, scientist can lay a spectrum of a pure sample over the new data, to see if the patterns match.
"We were only able to match the spectra from LCROSS data when we inserted the spectra for water," said Colaprete. "No other reasonable combination of other compounds that we tried matched the observations."
Scientists also found hydroxyl, a by-product of water degradation by sunlight. The presence of that molecule was further confirmation of water on the moon, and that the water had reacted to the sudden presence of sunlight after all those years of being hidden in the crater's shadow.
Beyond the excitement of possible long-term lunar exploration that the discovery inspires, it also offers a glimpse at the evolution of the solar system. The material that LCROSS exposed had been hidden from the harsh effects of the sun for so long, they are like a moment frozen in time from billions of years ago, when the solar system was in its infancy.
"We're unlocking the mysteries of our nearest neighbor and by extension the solar system. It turns out the moon harbors many secrets, and LCROSS has added a new layer to our understanding," said Michael Wargo, chief lunar scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. [NASA]
Comments
ccccccccccccoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooolllllllllllll!!!!!!!!!
It's sssssssssssssooooooooooooooo cool! :)
do you even proofread your article? conformation? of be a dozen?
Whoa, I would have never guessed that they would find water on the moon. It seems like some dead moon.
...
that is awesome.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
wow. ha, chicken tenders. hmm, sweet and sour sauce. water on the moon, i need something to drink. my mouth is dry.. i wonder why. HEY! that rhymed! :D
Seriously, proofreading and fact confirmation may be useful... "Hydroxyl" is not an element. Back to basics.
wow, awesome, really coooooooool, if there is water, then in a short time they will discover the life there
of course there should be a life, wow, I am so excited!
I don't want to live on the moon but I am happy that we finally know that people could live on the moon!
WELL HEY THERE HEY AND SO HEY i say to you that your a so hey. but yeah wwater on the moon. cool
this is a good thing......its so dope.......
To Chris and Jo: I do proofread, but apparently utterly failed this time around. Thanks for pointing out the mistakes. And I didn't mean "element" in the sense of "carbon," but now realize that was not at all the best word choice. Thanks again!
wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh
Giant steps are what you take...
Walkin' on the moon...
I hope my legs don't break...
Walkin' on the moon...
wow its so cool
I already knew that.
This is bloody Inevitable
Anyone Out there wanna TAlk? Use Commnets. Who the Hell is Checkign any of thsi Anyway??!
...they spend 79 million dollars for 24 gallons of water?
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW
ya'll finally found water on the moon, 4 real
Now that we've caused spectra to be blasted into the atmosphere now all the bloo--I mean WATER seeking aliens will now be able to zero in on our little moon!! Way to go Sam.
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wwwwwwoooooooooooooooowwwwwwwww
finally more proof that there was other life in another planet
WoW UnA OpUrTuNiDaD MaS De vIvIr gEnIaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaL
Of corse there's water on the moon for the same reason there are craters on the moon. But it didn't happen billions of years ago. It happened about 4400 years ago, the same time as the so called ice age of billions of years ago, the same time as the Noahic flood. When the earth's water's of the deep gave way and filled the heaven's and destroyed all of mankind, except the 8 people left in the ark that God provided. So, if you want to know more truth of the ages - Try reading your Bible, it's all in there. And if you refuse to believe now, you will soon, hepefully it's not to late!
@ Rod Barker
LEWLZ you R so dumb, how doos water filll the heavenz? how abotu gravity?!? Teh bible doesnt' have N E truth about sciencez in it, L-2-Science! Maybe the Noahic Flood put the watre on the moon since it filled teh heavenz!!!!1111one LOLZ
Rod Barker, you are an idiot. You must have the IQ of a walnut. I hope you die in a fire before you can breed and further infect mankind with your lies and stupidity.
Wow. That's pretty awesome.
I will be the first person to live in the moon, cool, they have discovered water that we will use over their in moon , thank God for that, i can wait to be the first person living in the moon
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