Scientists discover water inside tiny beads of glass on moon

Researchers have discovered water inside glass beads formed by violent collisions of space rocks with the surface of the Moon, suggesting their potential use by “future explorers.”

The amount of water stored in the beads is estimated to be around 270 trillion kilograms, according to the study published in the Nature Geoscience journal on Monday.

Their discovery is in line with recent missions over the last few decades that have shown that the Moon is not dry, contrary to the long-standing belief that it is devoid of water.

The study by the Chinese Academy of Sciences studied 117 glass beads collected from the Moon’s surface in 2020 during China’s robotic Chang’e 5 mission.

The Moon, which lacks the protection of the atmosphere, is bombarded by tiny meteorites resulting in the formation of glass beads.

The heat generated by the impact melts the surrounding surface material, which cools into the beads.

The researchers said that a sustainable water cycle on the Moon might exist due to the interaction of the solar winds with the lunar surface.