US researchers have found new evidence of water on the moon. There are indications of water molecules on the surface as well as areas on the moon where water could be permanently preserved as ice, report two teams of scientists in the journal Nature Astronomy. Water resources on the moon would be particularly important for future lunar missions.

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Water molecules rather at the poles In the first study, researchers around Casey Honniball from the University of Hawaii in Honolulu analyzed data from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (Sofia) – one of the US space agency NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) converted into a flying telescope Boeing 747. When examining the Clavius ​​crater in the south of the earth’s satellite, they found evidence of water molecules. They suspect that these could mainly be preserved in glass beads or in crevices between rubble on the surface. In general, they assume that water molecules are more likely to occur in areas near the Pole than in other regions closer to the lunar equator.

In the second study, a team led by Paul Hayne from the University of Colorado in Boulder looked specifically for craters, crevices and small areas in which water ice could occur. Using data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and theoretical models, they searched for so-called cold traps – zones that are permanently in the shadow where water ice could be preserved due to the constant cold. In addition to impact craters, this also includes smaller areas that are always shielded from the sun’s rays.

According to the investigation, an area of ​​40. 000 square kilometers are in constant shadow – that’s about twice as much as assumed by other studies. In theory, water ice could be stored there. Most of these regions are as expected in the polar regions of the celestial body, 60 percent The researchers locate the areas in the southern hemisphere.

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(Image: NASA) 7610985594 Water enormously important for manned missions “If you imagined standing on the lunar surface near one of the poles, you would see shadows everywhere,” Hayne said in a press release quoted from his university. “Many of these little shadows could be full of ice.” As an example of larger zones with water ice, the researchers cite the Shackleton Crater at the South Pole, which is more than four kilometers deep and has a diameter of over 20 kilometers. Large parts of this crater lie in eternal shadow.

For a long time the satellite was considered bone dry. But for several years there has been increasing scientific evidence that the moon might have more water than expected. Already 1994 the NASA son