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<ul><li>A study published by the Proceedings of the <keyword id="112679" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Academy-of-Sciences">National Academy of Sciences</keyword> has found definitive evidence of the ice <keyword id="15300" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Water">water</keyword> on the surface of the <keyword id="42440" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Moon">moon</keyword>. </li><li>Researchers used images from <keyword id="6360409" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nasa">NASA</keyword>’s <keyword id="108601" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Moon-Mineralogy-Mapper">moon mineralogy mapper</keyword> that was aboard <keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>’s <keyword id="45502" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chandrayaan-1">Chandrayaan-1</keyword>. </li><li>While there is potential for the future, the picture is not quite as rosy as it seems. </li></ul>It’s been long speculated that there is water present on the moon, but now a team of researchers from various US universities including the NASA <keyword id="456925" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ames-Research-Center">Ames Research Center</keyword> have found <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/08/14/1802345115" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">‘direct and definitive evidence’</a> that it, in fact, exists on the surface of the moon itself. This development comes from studying the infrared measurements taken by NASA’s moon mineralogy mapper that was abroad India’s lunar orbiter, the Chandrayaan-1. The measurements spell-out the telltale signature for the existence of frozen water on the moon. While this discovery may be significant for future manned expeditions and mining for water on the moon, there are certain terms and conditions that should be kept in mind. Moon mud While the paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences does provide evidence of water, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the water is in abundance. What are being called ‘cold traps’ are essentially 30% water mixed in with a whole lot of dirt. So, at the end of the day, it’s moon mud. And, working backwards from that, of all the cold traps that were observed only around 3.5% even showed any ice exposure. So, it’s not like there’s a lot of it on the surface. That being said, the spectral features also confirm that there’s a lot more of it underground. Observations show that water ice is trapped below the surface and accumulates specifically where the sun never shines, next to the poles. Even when water was discovered on Mercury and Ceres, it was found in cold traps where the topographic depressions on their poles were as such that they were permanently blocked off from the sun. The lack of sunlight, in the moon’s case, means that temperatures don’t rise above 110 Kelvin (K). To put that in perspective, 0 K translates to -273.15 degrees Celcius. The potential ahead At the end of the day, it’s not all gloom and doom. The discovery is significant to drive forward more exploration to the moon. In fact, India and China are already moving ahead with their programs. The former has the Chandrayaan-II mission that, despite its many delays, is set to launch in January 2019. The latter is planning a December launch to explore the dark side of the moon.

Evidence of water on moon’s surface, but terms and conditions apply

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A NASA planetary scientist said conditions on the lunar south pole could be ripe for microbial life.</li><li>Researchers have found that certain microbes on Earth can withstand extreme conditions.</li></ul>Compared to Earth, the moon is a desolate place. Devoid of flowing water, wispy clouds, and signs of life. Except, one NASA scientist thinks there's more to the moon than meets the eye. <a href="https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sed/bio/prabal.saxena">Prabal Saxena</a>, a planetary scientist at NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center, said microbial life could exist in harsh environments like those on the moon. "There may be potentially habitable niches for such life in relatively protected areas on some airless bodies," said Prabal Saxena, <a href="https://www.space.com/artemis-astronauts-search-life-on-moon">Space.com reported.</a> These moon microbes, if they exist, likely originated on Earth and hitched a ride on a lunar lander.<a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ac7b93" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Saxena studies</a> where alien life might exist outside our solar system but, recently, he's been working with a team that has its sights closer to home — the lunar south pole.<h2>The lunar south pole has craters of ice and possible microbial life</h2>The lunar south pole has had lots of attention in recent years because it's where NASA hopes to land its <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-to-announce-candidate-landing-regions-for-artemis-iii-moon-mission">Artemis III astronauts in 2025</a>. The agency has identified <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-identifies-candidate-regions-for-landing-next-americans-on-moon">13 potential landing sites:</a><div type="image" title="portion of lunar surface with 13 spots highlighted blue" height="1350" width="2400" msid="100921141" hostid="261" sizebytes="246392"></div>No human has ever set foot on the lunar south pole. But we know from NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper that it <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/ames/ice-confirmed-at-the-moon-s-poles">contains ice</a> inside craters, which astronauts could <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-scientists-discover-moons-hidden-water-stores-2020-10">mine for rocket fuel</a>.Some regions of these craters live in permanent darkness, constantly in shadow. As a result, the sun's harmful radiation never reaches these lunar pockets, and it could be a safe haven for <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/microbes/amazingsurvivors.jsp">extreme microbes</a>."Importantly, recent research on the survivability of microbes exposed to conditions like those on parts of the lunar surface indicate surprising resilience of numerous microorganisms to such conditions," Saxena stated in recent work, according to <a href="https://www.leonarddavid.com/looking-for-life-on-the-moon/">Leonard David for Inside Outer Space</a>.<div type="image" title="ice water map moon lunar north south poles polar deposits shadowed craters pnas nasa" height="556" width="1127" msid="100921142" hostid="261" sizebytes="105474"></div>For example, researchers found that a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bacteria-survived-on-outside-of-space-station-for-a-year-2020-11#:~:text=A%20species%20of%20bacterium%2C%20Deinococcus,and%20temperatures%20near%20absolute%20zero.">bacterium called Deinococcus radiodurans survived</a> on the outside of the International Space Station for a year. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tardigrade-water-bears-wildest-experiments-survived-2022-12">Tardigrades have also survived outside the ISS</a>, exposed to the extreme conditions in space."We're currently working on understanding which specific organisms may be most suited for surviving in such regions," Saxena told Space.com.Even if microbes don't exist on the moon right now, they almost certainly will if humans start walking around on its surface. And if Saxena and his team are right, those microbes could not only survive, but potentially grow and thrive, in these permanently-shrouded craters, per Space.com.

NASA scientist says there could be microbial life hiding in dark craters on the moon's south pole

<ul><li>Data from Indian Space Research Organisation's (<keyword id="6358064" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="isro">ISRO</keyword>) <keyword id="913432" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chandrayaan-1">Chandrayaan 1</keyword> orbiter shows that the Moon may be rusting along the poles. </li><li>The occurrence of rust is a conundrum because even though the Moon is known to have iron-rich rocks littered across the surface, it’s not known for the presence of water and oxygen — two elements that need to interact with iron to create rust. </li><li>Researchers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (<keyword id="6360409" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nasa">NASA</keyword>) believe that this could because Earth’s own atmosphere is lending a helping hand. </li></ul>Another sign that the Moon’s poles are home to water has emerged from the Chandrayaan 1’s data. The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) maiden mission to Earth’s natural satellite has revealed that there may be <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/the-moon-is-rusting-and-researchers-want-to-know-why">rusting on the Moon</a> — something that can only occur if iron interacts with water and oxygen. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="71701221" title="Chandrayaan 1 — India marks the 11th anniversary of its first successful mission to the Moon" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> And, even though the Moon has a lot of iron, it’s not known to be rich in oxygen and water. "The Moon is a terrible environment for hematite to form in," said Shuai Li, the lead author of the paper published in Science Advances. Researchers with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) believe that Earth may have had a role to play. The Earth’s atmosphere could be protecting the Moon as well The Moon is constantly bombarded by solar particles coming off the Sun. Without an atmosphere to protect itself, the hydrogen should make it difficult for rust to form. Hydrogen is a reducer. It adds electrons to the material it touches.For iron to rust, it needs the opposite — an oxidiser which removes electrons instead. Instead, Earth’s atmosphere may have had a helping hand to give. The planet’s magnetotail — the part of its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/nasa-confirms-that-the-dent-in-earths-protective-shield-is-splitting-into-two-and-it-is-getting-bigger/articleshow/77611768.cms">magnetic atmosphere</a> that extends away from the Sun — is capable of blocking out 99% of the solar wind aimed at the Moon when it’s in its Full Moon phase. <div type="image" title="magnetotail_edited" msid="77926431" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Earth&amp;#39;s magnetic atmosphere and magnetotail, which extends away from the Sun&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> That part of the lunar cycle gives iron on the Moon occasional windows of opportunity for rust to form. Building the perfect storm for the Moon to rust Earth’s magnetotail does more than just provide the Moon with a shield. During that interaction, some of the oxygen from the planet also gets transferred over. This was <a href="http://www.kaguya.jaxa.jp/en/science/result_of_kaguya_e_2008_1.htm">confirmed</a> by Japan’s Kaguya orbiter in 2007. So, even though the Moon isn’t rich in oxygen, it does have access to oxygen during the same window of opportunity when it’s not being bombarded with hydrogen. <div type="image" title="moon magnetotail_edited" msid="77926473" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;How the Earth&amp;#39;s Magnetotail protects the Moon from solar particles from the Sun&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> The last piece of the puzzle is water. Even though the rest of the Moon is bone dry, it’s poles have long been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/chandrayaan-2-could-find-a-lot-of-water-on-the-moon/articleshow/70356422.cms">suspected</a> of hosting water. Albeit only in shadowed craters located on the far side of the Moon — far from where the rust has been detected. <div type="image" title="moon water_edited" msid="77926507" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Chandrayaan 1 detects water on the Moon&amp;#39;s poles&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Researchers propose that fast-moving dust particles, which regularly pelt the Moon, could release surface-borne water molecules and mix them with iron in the lunar soil. Compounding the interaction, the resulting heat from these impacts could increase the oxidation rate. So if all three ingredients are in place — a Full Moon phase, water molecules and oxygen travelling from Earth — the perfect storm to create rust can in fact occur. Questions still left unanswered While the theory is sound on paper, there is still more information that’s needed to understand exactly how water is interacting with lunar rocks. The insights could also help explain why rusting is occurring on the far side of the moon, where it’s blocked off from Earth’s oxygen. This study was published using Chandrayaan-1's Moon Mineralogy Mapper instrument (M3) built by the National Aeronautics Space Administration’s (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). It detects how light is reflected off the surface of the Moon. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/pubg-ban-india-makes-chinese-company-tencent-loses-34-billion-in-2-days/articleshow/77924912.cms">Tencent loses nearly $34 billion since the PUBG ban in India — its second-largest valuation dip this year</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/no-other-asteroid-is-going-to-get-closer-to-earth-in-the-next-decade-as-the-one-set-to-fly-by-on-september-1/articleshow/77802359.cms">No other asteroid is going to get closer to Earth in the next decade than the one set to fly by on September 1</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/nasa-congratulates-indian-scientists-for-discovering-one-of-the-farthest-galaxies-in-the-universe/articleshow/77883347.cms">NASA congratulates Indian scientists for discovering one of the farthest galaxies in the universe</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/musks-spacex-completes-first-polar-orbit-in-off-shore-landing-by-falcon-9-booster/articleshow/77845337.cms">Elon Musk owned SpaceX completes its first polar orbit mission as Falcon 9’s booster nails off-shore landing</a>

ISRO's Chandrayaan 1 spots rusting on the Moon — NASA scientists believe Earth's atmosphere could be the reason why

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Evidence of water on moon’s surface, but terms and conditions apply

Prabhjote Gill

NASA scientist says there could be microbial life hiding in dark craters on the moon's south pole

Jessica Orwig

ISRO's Chandrayaan 1 spots rusting on the Moon — NASA scientists believe Earth's atmosphere could be the reason why

Prabhjote Gill

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