Water found on the moon

This is fantastic! Can't wait for more installments.

As I said before, John; as diverse as our own planet is; so too is the diversity of the universe.

Keep up the "really good show"....

Please explain to me how can there be water (as we know know it)
on the moon? Water consists of 2 parts hydrogen and one part oxygen, there is no oxygen on the moon or anyplace else that we know of. Fill me in, please

Great, we spend 79 million dollars to prove there is water on the moon, just to point out to the Chinese where to set up base. The U.S. certainly isn't going to get back to the moon first with NASA's current budget woes. By the time America gets back to the moon, we will have to be asking the Chinese for a drink of water.

Water is oxygen to breathe and to drink among other things. Hydrogen and oxygen is rocket fuel. Long story short, Moon base for further exploration and mining.

The finding of water on the moon would be over shadowed by those coming in from beyond the moon. This world our home, the Milky Way our yard and that which is beyond the new world that awaits us as a developing species. We are still very young compared to that which is already out there are we not.

Imagine the auto industry would go through a remarkable change with such and arrival and the knowledge that comes in with it. Imagine the Military has clued in and will not fire upon that which is approaching. Imagine where we are where medicine is concerned and understand how much further that has already been advanced which could act as a catalyst towards our growth and development. Parkinsons, Cancers, Aids, ALS, Alzhimers...but yes John..finding water on the moon important as well.

Pat McElveny,

There is no breatable oxygen on the moon that is true. However, Oxygen has been detected in many places in our solar system. Mars for instance has plenty of oxyen in it's atmosphere, however, it is locked in the form of carbon dioxide and isn't breathable. The water on the moon is in the form of subsurface ice crystals.

Our solar system is much wetter than we would think, after all Mars has polar ice caps that grow and shrink with the changing seasons, the moons of have been shown to hold oceans of liquid water under thick sheets of ice.

Edit to my previous comment

The Moons of Juipiter have been show to hold oceans of liquid water under thick sheets of Ice.

What I find odd is that when we went to the moon in the 60s, we didn't detect anything more then minute traces of water. So the water itself must be somewhat deep into the ground, which makes sense I suppose. Especially if the water was deposited mostly by comets, asteroids, and other such things that have hit the moon the last few million years.

GEE ~~ bet they can't wait to get up there and polute it like they have the earth!!

Where theres water, there is life.

you guys are all sheep
every single one of you
Water has been known on the moon for the last 40 years two Harvard/ Princeton astronomers published books on it
And the Indian REsearch Space Organization decalred water on the moon like 5-6 months ago!!!
and how do you guys know for certain the moon has no atmosphere? have you guys been there? oh wait you listen to what you hear and repeat it as if you actually know for yourselves
you people have no clue whats really going on
There have been books for the last 100 years since 1903 talking about the atmosphere/phenomena/lights on the moon

Just because Nasa tell yous something doesnt mean they are telling tthe truth because what if they arent?!?

Do you really believe if they knew something extraordinary they'd tell you simpletons?

Ryan,

It's a relitivly easy calculation to determine the if a celestial body has adequate gravaty to retain an atmosphere. Most people who take AP physics in highschool can do that. Then you just have to take into account temprature to ensure that there isn't smething like lead vapor on the surface and you can determine very quickly the likelyhood of a body like the moon retaining an atmosphere.

In addition anyone with a known chemical ion laser and ad a mass spectromitor can fire that laser at the mirror array placed on the moon during the 60's and measure for the chemical composition, if any, of a lunar atmosphere with little effort.

That's the beauty of science, it's not that hard to do much of this stuff.

And your right that evidence of water on the moon has been around for a while. The difference is that the amounts have been quantified. If you read the inital post closely you would note that it's not about the discovery of water, but discovery of large quantities.