NASA scientists have successfully replicated a groundbreaking experiment that confirms the formation of water on the Moon through solar wind interactions. The team, led by Li Hsia Yeo, simulated 80,000 years of solar exposure using Apollo 17 dust and proved that hydrogen from the Sun can combine with lunar oxygen to form water molecules in vacuum conditions.
The experiment involved bombarding baked lunar samples stripped of Earth’s moisture with solar-like particles, revealing new water signals. This is an unprecedented success, as the team was able to create a “lab-sized Moon” setup that mimicked the lunar vacuum and blocked Earth’s influence to capture pure results.
The findings suggest that water on the Moon could be continually replenished, with daily formation and disappearance patterns similar to those seen on Earth. This discovery has significant implications for future missions to the Moon, such as NASA’s Artemis program, which plans to harvest lunar resources.
The experiment also expands our understanding of water chemistry on rocky bodies across the solar system, including asteroids and Mercury. The theory behind this process has been around for decades, but this is the first lab evidence confirming its power.
With this breakthrough, scientists can now say that the solar wind’s ability to form water molecules in space has been confirmed, ending a long-standing debate with hard data.
Source: https://www.businesstoday.in/visualstories/news/80000-years-in-1-week-nasa-simulates-lunar-history-to-unlock-moons-water-secret-226261-18-04-2025