The waning moon is seen at the sky over Frankfurt, Germany, early Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
By Marcia Dunn
The moon’s shadowed, frigid nooks and crannies may hold frozen water in more places and in larger quantities than previously suspected, good news for astronauts at future lunar bases who could tap into these resources for drinking and making rocket fuel, scientists reported Monday.
While previous observations have indicated millions of tons of ice in the permanently shadowed craters of the moon’s poles, a pair of studies in the journal Nature Astronomy take the availability of lunar surface water to a new level.
More than 15,400 square miles (40,000 square kilometers) of lunar terrain have the capability to trap water in the form of ice, according to a team led by the University of Colorado’s Paul Hayne. That’s 20% more area than previous estimates, he said.
These ice-rich areas are near the moon’s north and south poles. Temperatures are so low in these so-called cold traps — minus 261 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 163 degrees Celsius) — that they could hold onto the water for millions or even billions of years.
“We believe this will help expand the possible landing sites for future lunar missions seeking water, opening up real estate previously considered ‘off limits’ for being bone dry,” Hayne said in an email to The Associated Press.
Using data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the researchers identified cold traps as small as a few yards (meters) across and as wide as 18 miles (30 kilometers) and more and used computer models to get all the way down to micrometers in size.
“Since the little ones are too small to see from orbit, despite being vastly more numerous, we can’t yet identify ice inside them,” Hayne said. “Once we’re on the surface, we will do that experiment.”
For a second study, scientists used NASA's airborne infrared observatory Sofia to conclusively identify water molecules on the sunlit portions of the moon, just outside the polar regions. Most of these molecules are likely stored in the voids between moon dust and other particles or locked inside glassy volcanic material.
Scientists believe all this water on the moon came from comets, asteroids, interplanetary dust, solar wind, or even lunar volcanic eruptions. They'll have a better idea of the sources “if we can get down on the surface and analyze samples of the ice,” Hayne said.
The lead researcher, Casey Honniball, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, said at a news conference that she wanted to make it clear the Sofia study had not found puddles on the moon. Rather, the identified hydrogen and oxygen molecules are so far apart, they are neither in liquid or solid form, she noted.
NASA is under White House direction to put astronauts back on the moon by 2024. The space agency wants its new Artemis moon-landing program to be sustainable, unlike the Apollo program a half-century ago.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Tensions from the Russia-Ukraine war have spilled into space. The head of Russia's space agency has threatened to pull the country out of the International Space Station if sanctions aren't lifted on the country — but that doesn't seem to be happening any time soon. What would it mean if Russia really did leave the ISS, who would it harm the most, and what would the consequences be both for the other ISS partners, and private space travel? Casey Dreier, Chief Advocate & Senior Space Policy Adviser at The Planetary Society, joins Closing Bell to discuss.
Almost every industry now uses online shopping and ordering, but some products require a different packing material, and many times, shipping products can be wasteful. TemperPack aims to solve both issues with its ClimaCell liners, which you might recognize if you have ever ordered a meal subscription kit. Brian Powers, co-founder and Chief Growth Officer at TemperPack, joins Closing Bell to discuss TemperPack's ClimaCell liners, the company's sustainability mission, its corporate customer base, and more.
Bees are responsible for the bulk of fruit and vegetable pollination — and they're negatively being affected by climate change. Tech startup Beewise is offering a solution with artificial intelligence to create robotic, autonomous hives to help the vulnerable bee populations. Saar Safra, co-founder & CEO, joined Cheddar News to talk about the company's recent $80 million to help make this project possible. "Our solution is not only hardware," he said. "Its software and biology all in one device. That's the challenge, and that's what sets us apart."
Space tourism continues to be generating buzz after the most recent Blue Origin launch. Two of its passengers made history as the first married couple to travel to space. The couple, Marc Hagle, CEO at Tricor, and Sharon Hagle, CEO at Spacekids Global, joined Cheddar News fresh off of their trip to talk about their experience and future space travel plans. "If there is a Santa Claus, we’ll have the opportunity to fly with Virgin Galactic, and maybe we'll have the opportunity to fly with SpaceX," said Marc Hagle, followed by Sharon explaining they had already signed up with Virgin Galactic about 15 years ago.
The metaverse may be the next big thing in the music world. Cheddar News’ Michelle Castillo sat down with Jon Vlassopulos, VP and head of music at Roblox, to discuss virtual concerts and more.
The head of Russia’s space program says the future of the ISS hangs in the balance after the U.S., EU, and Canadian space agencies missed a deadline to meet Russian demands for lifting sanctions on Russian enterprises and hardware.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 4, 2022, with reports of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, a weekend shooting in Sacramento killing six and injuring 12, Mexico ending its gas subsidization for U.S. drivers, and the University of South Carolina winning the women's NCAA basketball championship, and more.
Peter Zalzal, associate vice president for clean air strategies at the Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, joined Cheddar to discuss the Biden Administration's unveiling of stricter fuel-efficiency standards for new automobiles. "The administration estimated that these rules will reduce about 2.5 billion tons of climate pollution by 2050, and using less fuel also means that we have to go to the gas pump less often. And so it means we save money, thousands of dollars in avoided fuel costs each year for consumers," he noted.
A 60-year-old man allegedly had himself vaccinated against COVID-19 dozens of times in Germany in order to sell forged vaccination cards with real vaccine batch numbers.
Between Bells EP Conor White recaps some of the biggest stories of the week, while Baker Machado and Hena Doba test their knowledge, and maybe learn a thing or two. It's This Week in Trivia!
