This was reported by Science Alert, Ukrinform reported.

SOFIA had previously detected water molecules equivalent to approximately 350 ml of water in one cubic meter of soil on the lunar surface using the FORCAST infrared faint object camera.

The paper’s lead author, Dr. D. of the Southwest Research Institute. Based on the intensity of the spectral lines, Anisia Arredondo confirmed that the volume and distribution of water on the asteroids were consistent with those found on the Moon. Here water was also bound by minerals or absorbed by silicates.

Scientists estimate that there are more than 1 million asteroids orbiting the Sun, and it was believed that the water on them must have evaporated long ago. Iris is 199 km in diameter, larger than 99% of other asteroids. It orbits the Sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter at an average distance of 2.39 AU and completes one revolution in 3.7 years. Masalia has a diameter of 135 km and its orbit is similar to the orbit of Iris.

Asteroids in the solar system vary slightly in composition and structure. Ice-free silicate asteroids dominate closer to the Sun, while icy asteroids dominate further away.

Scientists say studying the distribution of asteroids helps understand the composition and movement of elements in the solar system before planets and asteroids formed.

As reported by Ukrinform, NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) confirmed the discovery of water on the sunny side of the Moon for the first time in history.