Eureka! There’s water on the moon’s surface

Beijing: China’s Chang’e 5 lunar lander has found the first-ever on-site evidence of water on the surface of the moon, lending new evidence to the dryness of the satellite.

The study published on Saturday in the peerreviewed journal Science Advances revealed that the lunar soil at the landing site contains less than 120 parts-per-million (ppm) water or 120 grams water per ton, and a light, vesicular rock carries 180 ppm, which is much drier than that on Earth.

The presence of water had been confirmed by remote observation but the lander has now detected signs of water in rocks and soil. A device on-board the lunar lander measured the spectral reflectance of the regolith and the rock and detected water on the spot. —(PTI)