GO WITH THE FLOW This illustration shows one scenario to account for the newly discovered water on the moon’s surface. When a stream of hydrogen ions carried from the sun (extreme right) by the solar wind hits the moon (extreme left), it may liberate oxygen from lunar material to form water. At high temperatures (red-yellow), most of the newly formed water is released into space but at lower temperatures (green-blue) water accumulates on the surface. This scenario doesn’t address the other new finding of water below the moon’s surface. F. Merlin/Unversity of Maryland, McREL
Scientists’ understanding of the moon could be all wet. Its surface is surprisingly dewy and its interior contains more water than previous analyses of moon rocks have indicated, according to new studies.