The moon is littered with tiny glass beads formed over billions of years when the soil from asteroid impacts cools and falls back onto the moon’s surface. Analysis of lunar samples brought to Earth by the Chinese probe Chang’e-5 showed that these balls contained significant amounts of water.

availability of water months – not news. NASA’s lunar orbiters found evidence of life-giving fluid in the moon’s permanently shadowed polar craters in the 1990s. Reanalysis of piloted samples in the 2000s Apollo missions Hydrogen was discovered on lunar soils in the late 1960s and 1970s. And recently decommissioned infrared telescope SOFIA In 2020, it was confirmed that there is water on the Moon even outside of dark craters. However, the origin and behavior of this lunar water is still somewhat unclear.

However, the glass beads found in the 61.1-ounce (1,731-gram) lunar regolith brought to our planet Chang’e-5 In December 2020 this could be a piece of the puzzle.

Scientists believe the moon was completely dry billions of years ago. But centuries-old actions solar wind, a constant stream of charged particles emitted from the Sun led to the formation of water in the surface layers of the Moon. These reactions continue even today, as hydrogen atoms in the solar wind bond with oxygen molecules in the lunar regolith to form water molecules. This is a contribution to the Moon’s water cycle. Today, scientists know that some of this water evaporates when the upper layers of the Moon are heated by sunlight. Then the surface gets wet again during the moonlit night. However, the source of this rehydration cannot be the solar wind because this process happens too quickly.

A new study suggests the glass balls may act as a secret reservoir, where water is easily released onto the dry surface of the soil on cool, dark lunar nights.

A new study has found that these balls contain much more water than previously thought. In addition, the analysis showed that a significant amount of fluid accumulates inside these balls over several years and can be released even faster. Researchers estimate that up to 600 trillion pounds (270 trillion kilograms) of water could be trapped 40 feet (12 meters) above the lunar surface. The chemical composition of the water in the balls corresponds to the type of water formed as a result of its interaction with the solar wind, since it contains isotopes of hydrogen found in the sun.

“These findings show that shock glasses on the Moon’s surface and other airless bodies in the Solar System can accumulate water produced by the solar wind and blast it into space,” said Hu Sen, a scientist at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics. . One of the paper’s co-authors, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, says in the statement. Researchers believe the glass beads could be a viable source of water extraction for future human crews and could produce rocket fuel on the moon’s surface for missions to more distant locations.