Discoveries

April 12, 2023

Beads of Life

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It’s been long known that there is water on the Moon, but scientists have long wondered how it is stored on the lunar surface.

Now, a new study on recently collected lunar samples shows that water is hidden within small glass beads spread out across the surface of Earth’s satellite, Newsweek reported.

To arrive at this conclusion, researchers analyzed samples collected by China’s Chang’e 5 mission, which returned from the Moon in December 2020. They discovered that the tiny water-carrying beads are not originally from the Moon: The beads were formed because of meteorite impacts which caused silicate minerals to melt and form glass-like material.

The oxygen from Moon rocks within the beads then reacted with hydrogen ions in the solar wind to form H₂O, which is then absorbed by the beads.

The team noted that these stones have been formed for millions of years, and they estimate there could be as much as 330 billion tons of water hidden inside these glass beads across the entire surface of the Moon.

Scientists had previously observed surface water on the Moon coming and going in diurnal cycles, being lost to space. The new findings confirm the theory of a hydrated layer that replenishes lost water in the lunar soil.

The authors suggested that this water can be easily extracted and serve as a resource for future human missions to the Moon.

They also speculated that these kinds of glass beads could be present in other airless planets where the solar wind can react with the rocks thrown up during meteor collisions.

This story originally appeared in the April 12, 2023 newsletter, New Kids on the Block.