Water on moon is one of the most cherished of science fiction stories ever. We have grown up reading the stories of the discovery of the water on moon and subsequent human colonization. Those stories may not be completely true but at least a part of them has become reality. NASA launched its Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (Lcross) back in June amidst much fanfare. Lcross carried the rocked Centaur. The first part of the mission included the identification of probable location where the water could be found on lunar surface. NASA scientists guessed the best location to find water would be the craters on lunar south poles. As the place remains in shadow, the water would have not been able to evaporate.
The plan was to collide the probe with the lunar surface. The gravity on moon is much lower than earth. It was planned that the impact would cause a huge cloud of lunar dust which would include all the substance found in the lunar mud. As a rocket would be launched by the probe it would pass through the cloud of dust and analyze it in its wake.
NASA scientists were of the view that the impact would be so intense that it would be visible from earth and especially the rising debris. However as the probe impacted the surface, nothing was visible from earth, perhaps due to the darkness on the lunar south pole.
As the spectroscopes mounted on the probe analyzed the constituents of the lunar dust the existence of water was all visible. The probe has discovered approximately 20~25 gallons of water.
Please don’t contact your architect to come up with a design of your home at the moon; the water is still not enough for inhabitation.
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