The Daily Orange

Scientists from NASA announced the discovery of water on the moon Friday.

For about a decade, scientists have had suspicions of water ice at the bottom of the cold lunar craters where the sun never shines. The hints of water came from ice in the moon's polar craters. In September, scientists reported their unexpected discovery of a thin sheet of water on the moon's surface, according to a Friday article in The New York Times.

"The discovery opens a new chapter in our understanding of the moon," said Michael Wargo, chief lunar scientist at NASA headquarters in Washington, according to CNN.com. Wargo said that this discovery could unlock the mysteries of the world.

This newfound discovery could be the key to potential resources that can sustain future lunar exploration. Lunar ice can give future explorers who might build a settlement on the lunar surface something to drink. It can be broken down into oxygen and hydrogen, and then the separated oxygen could help astronauts to breathe in space, according to the New York Times article.

The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) purposely crashed into a crater near the moon's south pole Oct. 9.

The LCROSS is composed of two different pieces. The larger rocket shell crashed into the floor of Cabeus, a crater 60 miles wide and two miles deep, and a small spacecraft inside of the satellite measured close to 26 gallons of water, according to the New York Times article.

A spectrometer on the spacecraft found the water by measuring specific wavelengths of absorbed light. Hydrogen and oxygen atoms broke apart due to the impact, showing evidence of what scientists believe were water molecules, according to the article.



The Daily Orange asks the experts, "What is the significance of NASA finding water on the moon?"


Meet the expert: Gianfranco Vidali, professor of physics

"It's always exciting to find water in other places like the surface of the moon. Potentially one could use this water for human uses. I think even more interesting is the potential of mining materials on the moon. If we start building fuel cells that are present here on Earth, those materials that aren't as abundant as we like it to be will be sought somewhere else. Some years ago, President Bush unveiled a plan to build a base on the moon as a stepping stone to go to Mars and to other places."


Meet the expert: William H. Lambright, professor of public administration and political science

"There's a significance that is both scientific and political. Scientifically, it's a genuine discovery. The moon was seen to be a pretty dead place. If they found water in one place, then there must be in others. Politically, there is a debate underway in the Obama administration about the policy to return to the moon. Now that we have found water, the advocates who believe we should set up a moon base gain more credibility. All this makes the moon more interesting."


Meet the expert: Cristian Armendariz-Picon, professor of physics

"It seems to me that the presence of water has mainly a practical significance. It may facilitate the establishment of a human base on the moon."


jjbatist@syr.edu

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