The story of Water On the Moon continuos to intrigue and baffle the space community. Where did the water on the moon come from? What is its source? This topic is still being debated and as yet no firm conclusion has been arrived at.
On September 23 2009, ``Beyond Moon and Mars (BMM),'' attend a presentation by none other than Mylswamy Annadurai, project director, Chandrayaan, at the SIES College, where he declared that one of the major findings of the Indian moon missionoon was that the source of water on the moon was internal, and not necessarily though an external factor like comets.
According to Nasa the moon was to have been as dry as it was void of life and atmosphere.
This assumption, though, has been revisited after findings by NASA last year of significant traces of frozen water in a permanently shadowed crater.
Astrophysicists led by James Greenwood of Wesleyan University in Connecticut analysed rock samples collected during the Apollo expeditions, looking in particular at variations in hydrogen isotopes in a water-loving mineral called apatite.
Considering the importance of their research, BMM has reproduced the report as it was published in Spacedaily.com, a well know space website. According to this report this signature, they say, points to three potential sources: from the sub-surface lunar mantle, from protons brought by the "solar wind" of particles blasted from the Sun -- and from comets.
The isotope measurements in the apatite were similar to those previously found in three well-known comets: Hale-Bopp, Hyakutake and Halley.
Comets have been described as frozen reservoirs of water orbiting the Sun, for they contain vast quantities of ice in their heads.
Under a "giant impact" theory dating back to the 1970s, the Moon was formed from part of Earth, after our planet collided with a space rock or planet some 4.5 billion years ago.
"Significant delivery" of cometary water occurred after the Moon-forming event, suggests Greenwood's team.
Comets also provided Earth with some of its lavish endowment of water as well as key chemicals to kickstart life, according to some hypotheses.
The paper is published online by the journal Nature Geoscience.
The report endorses the statement of Annadurai that one of the possible sources of water on the moon
Incidentally, BMM has published this blog when Mumbai is facing a three-day water cut. Any other source of water can find in the financial capital of India?!!!!!!!
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