•Water on the Moon has two potential sources: water carried by comets and other bodies that have collided with the Moon, and in situ production. The latter is theorized to have been produced in small amounts by the chemical combination of hydrogen ions (protons) in the solar wind with oxygen atoms in the Moon’s minerals (oxides, silicates, etc.), forming water or its possible precursors, hydroxyl groups, trapped in a crystal lattice. These compounds, in the form of hydrates and hydroxides of the Moon’s minerals, persist chemically (as compounds rather than free water) in large parts of the Moon’s surface. Indeed, the presence of adsorbed water in trace concentrations has been calculated to be on the order of 10 parts per million to 1000 parts per million. This mineral-bound water, or hydroxylated mineral surface, should not be confused with water ice.
Uncertain evidence of the presence of liquid water on the Moon has been found in various models that assume the presence of bound hydrogen. Moon scientists have been discussing the possibility of water deposits for decades. Now, they write in a report that they are “confident that the decades-long debate is over.” “There is water on the Moon everywhere, not just in minerals, but in fragmented form on the surface and probably in the form of ice blocks or slabs deep underground.”
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