Magmatic Water Detected on Moon's Surface

Scientists using data collected from NASA instruments aboard the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft have detected the presence of magmatic water on the lunar surface.

The latest discovery was made by researchers from Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory who based their finding on data produced by NASA's instrument Moon Mineralogy Mapper, M3, aboard the Indian Space Research Organization's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft.

For the first time scientists detected the presence of water trapped in mineral grains on the surface of the moon.

"Compared to its surroundings, we found that the central portion of this crater contains a significant amount of hydroxyl - a molecule consisting of one oxygen atom and one hydrogen atom -- which is evidence that the rocks in this crater contain water that originated beneath the lunar surface," Rachel Klima, a planetary geologist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md, said in a press statement.

Prior to this, studies conducted earlier revealed the presence of magmatic water in lunar samples that were collected during the Apollo mission.

The M3 captured the lunar crater Bullialdus that is situated near the lunar equator. Due to the location of the crater as well as the types of rocks present in it, scientists have always been keen on studying this area. The crater's central peak consists of the type of rocks that are formed deep inside the lunar crust and mantle when magma is locked underground.

"This rock, which normally resides deep beneath the surface, was excavated from the lunar depths by the impact that formed Bullialdus crater," said Klima.

The first mineralogical map of the lunar surface was provided in 2009 by M3. It revealed the presence of water molecules in the moon's polar region, which scientists believe is a thin layer formed as a result of solar winds hitting the surface of the moon. But such a process is highly improbable on the Bullialdus crater as it is situated in an unfavourable environment, which would not allow the solar winds to produce water on the surface.

"NASA missions like Lunar Prospector and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite and instruments like M3 have gathered crucial data that fundamentally changed our understanding of whether water exists on the surface of the moon," said S. Pete Worden, center director at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. "Similarly, we hope that upcoming NASA missions such as the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer, or LADEE, will change our understanding of the lunar sky."

This discovery will further assist the findings from sample studies in a broader context, including in regions that are far from the Apollo sites.

The scientists now plan on comparing the water with other characteristics of the lunar surface.  The internal magmatic water will also offer clues regarding volcanic processes on the moon as well its internal composition.