Water on the Sunlit Moon

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Text, News From The Universe. November 2, 2020
 
Water On The Sunlit Moon
 
NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) has confirmed, for the first time, water on the sunlit surface of the Moon.
 
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The water molecules were detected in Clavius Crater, visible from Earth on the Moon's southern hemisphere.
 
Images of the cratered surface of the Moon.
 
Text, The discovery indicates that water may be distributed across the lunar surface, and not limited to cold, shadowed places.

Whether the water is easily accessible for use as a resource remains to be determined.
 
The amounts are small, but the discovery still raises new questions about how water is created and how it persists on the harsh, airless lunar surface.
 
This news was brought to you in part by NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, CA