Moon water? Wut?

[NotRust]

http://www.news.com.au/technology/story ... 39,00.html

Water found on moon could lead to lunar colonies

THE discovery of water by a lunar mission has led to greater hope of humans colonising the moon.

India's first lunar mission has found evidence of large quantities of water on its surface, The Times newspaper said.

Data from the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft also suggested water was still being formed on the moon, the British newspaper said.

"It's very satisfying," the newspaper quoted Mylswamy Annadurai, the mission's project director at the Indian Space Research Organization in Bangalore, as saying.

The discovery has opened the door for possible moon bases being established, with astronauts taking advantage of the water on the surface.

After further analysis is done, the next task for scientists will be to figure out how to exploit the water to move towards an international lunar base, director of the International Lunar Exploration Working Group Bernard Foing told MSNBC.

[New Ziedrich]

I know that there was a guy who found a way to reliably extract water from elements in moon dust, but this is just nuts.

[Mikertaz Kein]

waitwut?

How did they find out?!?

*cough*

Nothing to see here, nothing at all!

[Northwest Slobovia]

At a guess, the Indian probe picked up evidence of hydrogen, which is usually interpretted to mean water ice. I'm curious to see how much ice they think they've got up there, and how concentrated it is.

Edit: This LA Times story says:

The amount of water in any one place is tiny. Clark estimated it at about a quart per ton of soil.

The moon "is almost as wet as a bone," Lucey said in an e-mail interview with The Times. "It is in the form of an imperceptible film on soil grains, perhaps several molecules thick."

Unless science makes some technological breakthrough, it would be extremely difficult for future moon colonists to harvest such tiny amounts of water. The research indicates, however, that the water migrates toward the poles -- by literally lifting off the soil particles and drifting north and south -- when the temperature rises during the lunar day. When the water molecules land in a colder area near the poles, they are trapped there in higher concentrations, "perhaps high enough to use," Lucey said.

I figured as much...

[Big Jim P]

I know that there was a guy who found a way to reliably extract water from elements in moon dust, but this is just nuts.

Extract hydrogen and oxygen from the moon rocks. Use it to power fuel cells. Collect the exhaust. Drink it.

[The Scandinvans]

It is what they use to make moon cheese. *Nods*