2024-01-25 05:00:09
A recent scientific breakthrough reveals that the Moon was rich in water around 4 billion years ago. This discovery, led by Tara Hayden, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Western Ontario, opens a new window on the evolution of the Moon and might influence future lunar missions.
The study focused on a lunar meteorite, a fragment of the Moon’s surface, where Hayden discovered apatite, a common mineral. This find allows an unprecedented analysis of a little-known period of the Moon, when it was still in the fusion phase. The results suggest that the lunar crust from that time contained more water than scientists previously imagined.
Lunar samples brought back by the Apollo missions in the 1960s and 1970s initially led to the belief that the Moon was extremely poor in water. However, the 2008 discovery of significant quantities of water in the Apollo sample collection called this hypothesis into question. Since then, lunar meteorites that have reached Earth have continued to reveal a Moon that is far from barren.
Hayden points out that the Apollo samples were only taken from 5% of the lunar surface. Lunar meteorites therefore offer a unique opportunity to study unexplored regions of the Moon. By focusing on apatite found in ferroan anorthosites, lunar rocks formed directly from the Lunar Magmatic Ocean, Hayden was able to directly study this phase of lunar evolution.
These discoveries come at a crucial time for lunar science, as humanity prepares to return to the Moon with the Artemis mission. Frozen water on the lunar surface might play a vital role in supporting astronauts and producing hydrogen as fuel for trips back to Earth or to other destinations in the solar system.
This research on lunar rocks is described in an article published in Nature Astronomy. It opens new perspectives on the presence of water on the Moon, challenging conventional wisdom and suggesting that the lunar surface may contain more water than previously thought.
Apatite, a key mineral for understanding the history of water on the Moon
Apatite is a mineral that plays a crucial role in understanding the history of water on the Moon. It is a group of calcium phosphate with the chemical formula Ca₅(PO₄)₃(F,Cl,OH), which may include fluorine, chlorine and hydroxyl. This mineral is commonly found in terrestrial rocks, meteorites and, as recent discoveries show, also in lunar rocks.
What makes apatite particularly interesting to scientists is its ability to incorporate volatiles, that is, elements or compounds that can evaporate or decompose at relatively low temperatures, into its structure. In the lunar context, the most relevant volatiles are water (H₂O) and hydroxy compounds (OH). Apatite can therefore serve as an indicator of the presence of water and other volatiles in lunar rocks.
By examining the composition and structure of apatite found in lunar meteorites, researchers can infer the amount and form in which water was present in the early lunar crust. This offers valuable clues to the geological history of the Moon and, by extension, to the evolution of planetary environments in our solar system.
The discovery of apatite in lunar meteorites, and particularly in ferroan anorthosites – rocks formed directly from the Lunar Magmatic Ocean – is significant. It suggests that water was present even during phases when the Moon was mostly molten, revolutionizing our understanding of the Moon’s hydrological history. This discovery might have important implications for planning future lunar missions, particularly for the use of on-site water resources.
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