A new analysis of dust retrieved from the Moon suggests that water bound up in the lunar surface could originate with the Sun.
More specifically, it could be the result of bombardment of hydrogen ions from the solar wind, slamming into the lunar surface, interacting with mineral oxides, and bonding with the dislodged oxygen. The result is water that could be hiding in the lunar regolith in significant quantities at mid and high latitudes.
This has implications for our understanding of the provenance and distribution of water on the Moon – and may even be relevant to our understanding of the origins of water on Earth.
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