The space race, that definition so inherently human, is nothing more than a struggle to find resources in space. As such, in recent years, other curious terms, such as “space mining,” have emerged, where those directly interested don’t hide what they want. Where? The Moon and Mars seemed to be two favorable enclaves, and now China has just made a historic discovery. Yes, this country has found water.
The announcement. A team of Chinese scientists has identified a kind of mineral with water in its molecular structure in a lunar sample retrieved by the Chang’e-5. “An increasing body of evidence has pointed to the existence of water or water ice on the moon’s surface, but it is more likely to be in the form of hydroxyl groups,” they report.
The discovery marks the first time scientists have found complete H2O molecules in lunar samples. Findings suggest that “water molecules can persist in sunlit areas of the Moon as hydrated salts,” the authors say.
Water, really. You must be experiencing a sense of déjà vu when it comes to lunar water. It's no wonder. Between the confusing headlines and mixed concepts, we’ve all heard more than once that lunar missions have collected water samples on the Moon. Coincidentally, it wasn’t molecular water but hydroxyl, indicating the presence of water because it can combine with hydrogen ions to form water when released from its host mineral.
Conversely, hydroxyl in minerals indicates the presence of water in the past because the incorporation of hydroxyl into minerals usually results from interaction with water during their formation. However, this new finding from China isn’t hydroxyl; it’s legitimately molecular water in physical samples.
Process. The team used X-ray diffraction to analyze lunar soil grains, where they found ULM-1, a mineral from the satellite that’s more than 40% water by mass (it also contains ammonia). “This is a new form of water stored on the Moon,” Xiaolong Chen, co-author of the study and a physics researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, explains.
Previous findings. The discovery is consistent with NASA’s earlier detection of water with the SOFIA telescope on the lunar surface in 2020. However, researchers couldn’t confirm it with physical samples at the time. NASA and the Indian spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 have previously detected signs of water on the lunar surface, mainly in the form of ice and water molecules at the poles.
In addition, China had discovered water trapped in glass beads containing hydroxyl, which could be converted into water by solar winds. The new findings open possible avenues for extracting water from the moon.
Lunar mining. Everything leads to mining. China obtained the samples at 43.1 degrees latitude in a region previously thought unsuitable for molecular water. Because researchers found the element in this new mineral called ULM-1, stabilized by ammonia, they believe it could be a potential resource for a lunar habitat, furthering China’s ambitions in space exploration (and plans to build a research base on the moon).
“The discovery of a hydrated mineral at the Chang’e-5 landing site is fascinating and will further enhance our understanding of rock-vapor reactions in the lunar crust and on the lunar surface,” David A. Kring, a senior scientist at the Texas Lunar and Planetary Institute, said.
In short, the countdown to space mining, the other space race, has begun.
This article was written by Miguel Jorge and originally published in Spanish on Xataka.
Image | China National Space Administration, Public Domain
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