It was previously thought that ancient lunar volcanoes were almost non-existent when it came to the Earth’s moon.
Being the natural satellite of our planet, the Moon has not only provided us with the sun’s reflective light in the night sky, but has also contributed to a relatively stable climate and ocean tides due to its strong gravitational pull.
However, a new study showed that our neighboring celestial body can also provide us with other benefits in the form of drinking water or space rocket fuel water for future space travelers.
This is based on ancient volcanoes that erupted on the moon billions of years ago.
Lunar volcanic eruptions created clouds containing carbon monoxide and water vapor, forming a short-lived lunar atmosphere that lasted millions of years.
Scientists believed that this space phenomenon could have left potential water resources invisible to us.
Since its formation after the solar system, the Moon has been next to our planet, stabilized by gravitational orbits.
In light of new research, it appears that the moon can also help drive space exploration apart from being just our space neighbor.
Lunar volcanoes and water ice
(Photo: Photo by Bill Ingalls / NASA via Getty Images)
In a new article published in The Planetary Science Journal on May 3, scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) believed that ancient lunar volcanoes billions of years ago could have caused a large debris. of H20 in the form of water. ice from the accumulation of polar ice caused by transient atmospheres caused by volcanic eruptions on its surface.
The U.S.-based study stated that this water exists at the lunar poles, specifically the North Pole and the South Pole of the Moon.
However, the research team acknowledged that the exact abundance, distribution, and origin of this natural resource are not fully understood.
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Volcanic degassing
Although the research hypothesis was not derived from physical sampling, CU Boulder researchers constructed a model; which determines that the accumulation of lunar polar ice water comes from volcanic degassing.
The team model suggested that approximately 41% of the total mass of H20 emitted from lunar volcanic eruptions during the prehistoric period may have condensed as ice in the polar regions of the Moon. .
The assessment was also based on the mapping of water ice distribution and abundance through current surface temperature data extracted from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Appearance of the Moon
In a CU Boulder press release on May 18, the university noted that its new investigation that ancient volcanoes occurred in a series of eruptions covered the Moon with hot lava for hundreds of thousands of square miles.
According to the study’s authors, the lava emission and drying have apparently contributed to the “familiar” appearance of the Moon as we know it as a dark gray floating in the vastness of space.
However, these physical characteristics have also hinted at the possible drinking water that hides on the moon all the time.
In comparison, the team’s simulation model showed that the appearance of the Moon was almost similar to Hawaii between 2,000 and 4,000 million years ago.
The only difference is that our natural satellite contained tens of thousands of erupting volcanoes on the surface, reaching a peak every 22,000 years, according to the simulation.
Prior to the CU Boulder study, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) first confirmed in October 2020 that its Stratospheric Observatory of Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) had detected water on the surface. · Illuminated by the sun of the Moon.
NASA’s discovery paved the way for decades of continued curiosity about the possibility of water being distributed on the lunar surface.
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