As humans plan to return to the Moon, their mission partners have already explored the moon’s surface, made its topography and geological features, and even illuminated even the darkest regions. A major breakthrough, led by India’s Chandrayaan missions, was the availability of water on the Moon in 2008. About 14 years after the first discovery, we now know the source of the water. It came from Earth.
A new study led by scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute shows that the water on the Moon could be the result of hydrogen ions and oxygen from the Earth’s upper atmosphere and converge on the moon. Led by Gunther Kletetschka of the University of Alaska, the study adds to a large pool of ongoing studies to find the source of water in the moon poles north and south.
The discovery of water reservoirs on Earth without the Moon will be a significant help as astronauts from the US, Europe, and China plan to reach the top and build the foundations to move forward toward Mars. “As the NASA team’s Artemis team plans to build a camp on the southern pole of the moon, water ions from many times in the past could be used to support the life of astronomers,” Kletetschka said.
New research estimates that the Moon may hide about 2,500 miles [3,500 km] of permafrost or groundwater created by ions escaping from Earth’s atmosphere. Estimates were made taking into account the lowest volume of ions escaping from Earth and 1 percent reaching the moon.
How does water escape to the moon?
Studies suggest that hydrogen and oxygen ions are driven by the moon as they pass through the tail of the Earth’s magnetosphere, which in five days travels around the planet. The magnetosphere is formed by the Earth’s magnetic field, which shields the planet from the ever-increasing flow of charged sun particles.
A study conducted by Nasa and the European Space Agency has already revealed significant numbers of ions that form water during the lunar cycle through this part of the magnetosphere. “The presence of the moon in the tail of the magnetosphere, called the magnetotail, temporarily affects other lines of magnetic field – those that are broken and suddenly travel through space thousands of miles,” says the University of Alaska Fairbanks statement.
The presence of the moon on the magneto tail causes some of these broken stadium lines to reconnect with their broken opposing counterparts. When that happens, the hydrogen and oxygen ions that have escaped from the Earth run into those reconnected field lines and accelerate back to Earth. These transient ions hit the Moon and combine to form lunar permafrost.
“It’s like the moon in the shower – the ion shower water returns to Earth, falling on the moon,” Kletetschkasaid. The findings will pave the way for future research into these permanently frozen areas on the Moon that may release water reservoirs that can support life in an airless environment.
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