Latest news with #LiHsiaYeo
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
The sun might be spitting out particles that create water on the moon
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Future moon astronauts may find water more accessible than previously thought, according to a new experiment that suggests the sun is replenishing the sought-after resource on the lunar surface. Because the moon lacks a magnetic field like Earth's, the barren lunar surface is constantly bombarded by energetic particles from the sun; these particles make up the solar wind. Scientists have long suspected, based on computer simulations, that the solar wind helps make the ingredients of water on the lunar surface. The high-speed particles, primarily composed of positively charged hydrogen ions, capture lunar electrons to become hydrogen atoms. The newly-formed hydrogen atoms then migrate through the dusty and rocky regolith to bond with oxygen, forming hydroxyl and water molecules across the surface, often concentrating in permanently shadowed polar regions. However, the natural cycle and renewability of these ingredients remained unclear. So, to shed light on this process, Li Hsia Yeo, a planetary scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, led a lab experiment observing the effects of simulated solar wind on two samples of loose regolith brought to Earth by the Apollo 17 mission. One of the samples was dug from a scar-like trench called Wessex Cleft and the other from the bottom of a young crater rim in South Massif. To remove any terrestrial water the 50-year-old samples would have absorbed since their return to Earth, Yeo and her team baked the samples overnight in a vacuum furnace. To mimic conditions on the moon, the researchers built a custom apparatus that included a vacuum chamber, where the samples were placed, and a tiny particle accelerator, which the scientists used to bombard the samples with hydrogen ions for several days. "It took a long time and many iterations to design the apparatus components and get them all to fit inside," Jason McLain, a research scientist at NASA Goddard who co-led the experiment with Yeo, said in a statement, "but it was worth it, because once we eliminated all possible sources of contamination, we learned that this decades-old idea about the solar wind turns out to be true." An analysis of how the samples' chemical makeup changed over time showed a drop in the light signal at the same spot in the infrared region — near three microns — where water absorbs energy. This indicates the formation of hydroxyl and water molecules due to the mock solar wind, confirming the long-held theory, the study reports. The team also found that heating the samples to typical lunar dayside temperatures of about 260 degrees Fahrenheit (126 degrees Celsius) for 24 hours led to a decrease in these water-related molecules. But when the samples were cooled for another 24 hours and blasted with mock solar wind again, the water-related signatures reappeared. This cycle suggests the solar wind continuously replenishes small amounts of water on the moon's surface, according to the new study. "The exciting thing here is that with only lunar soil and a basic ingredient from the sun — which is always spitting out hydrogen — there's a possibility of creating water," Yeo said in a statement. "That's incredible to think about." Related Stories: — NASA's sun-studying PUNCH mission captures its 1st-light images. Everything looks great so far — A hidden solar cycle is awakening, but more extreme space weather over the next 50 years may not be a bad thing — Blue Skies Space to build satellite fleet around the moon to map the ancient universe Supporting this idea, observations from previous moon missions have revealed an abundance of hydrogen gas in the moon's tenuous atmosphere. Scientists suspect that solar-wind-driven heating facilitates the combination of hydrogen atoms on the surface into hydrogen gas, which then escapes into space. This process also has a surprising upside, the new study suggests. Leftover oxygen atoms are free to bond with new hydrogen atoms formed by repeated bombardment of the solar wind, prepping the moon for more water formation on a renewable basis. The findings could help assess how sustainable water on the moon is, as the sought-after resource is crucial for both life support and as propellant for rockets. The team's study was published in March in the journal JGR Planets.
India Today
21-04-2025
- Science
- India Today
Where did Moon get its water from? Scientists discover big lunar secret
It was India's Chandrayaan Mission that discovered water on the Moon, and ever since the race to find its mysterious source has been on. A team of scientiests have now discovered where did it all come researchers have confirmed that the Sun's solar wind is a critical source of the Moon's water, solving a decades-old mystery about how water forms on the lunar the 1960s, scientists have hypothesised that charged particles streaming from the Sun could trigger chemical reactions on the Moon, creating water molecules. Now, in the most realistic laboratory simulation to date, this theory has been validated. The solar wind — a continuous flow of high-speed protons (hydrogen nuclei) emitted by the Sun—bombards the Moon's airless surface at over a million miles per hour. Unlike Earth, which is shielded by a magnetic field and atmosphere, the Moon's surface is directly these protons collide with the lunar soil, or regolith, they capture electrons and form hydrogen atoms. These hydrogen atoms then bond with oxygen atoms abundant in lunar minerals, creating hydroxyl (OH) and water (H2O) molecules just millimeters deep in the confirm this process, Nasa scientists Li Hsia Yeo and Jason McLain designed a unique experimental chamber that simulated the Moon's vacuum environment while bombarding Apollo 17 lunar soil samples with a beam mimicking solar wind. By baking the samples beforehand to remove any Earth-based moisture, the team ensured uncontaminated exposing the dust to simulated solar wind equivalent to 80,000 years of lunar exposure within days, they detected a distinct infrared signature near 3 microns—a telltale sign of water and hydroxyl molecules forming in the samples. This discovery has big implications for Nasa's Artemis program, which plans to establish a sustainable human presence at the Moon's South Pole, where much of the water is believed to be frozen in permanently shadowed finding suggests that water on the Moon is not just a relic but may be continuously replenished by solar wind interactions, creating a dynamic lunar water cycle.'The exciting thing here is that with only lunar soil and a basic ingredient from the Sun, which is always spitting out hydrogen, there's a possibility of creating water,' said insight could revolutionise future lunar exploration by enabling astronauts to harvest water directly from the lunar surface, supporting life and fuel production beyond Watch
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA recreates 80,000 years of moon exposure to confirm sun can create water
For decades, scientists have wondered how the moon can have water. It's dry, airless, and lacks an atmosphere, so the presence of water on its surface is nothing short of a mystery. Over the years, theories have pointed to icy comets, micrometeorite impacts, and buried reserves locked in ancient craters. But a new NASA-led study flips the script on all of that. In the most realistic lab simulation to date, researchers have shown that the sun's own solar wind could be creating water directly in the moon's soil. This breakthrough not only supports a decades-old hypothesis but also strengthens the case for using the moon's natural resources in future human missions. Led by Li Hsia Yeo, a research scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, the team built the most realistic simulation to date of how solar wind impacts the moon. Working with fellow NASA researcher Jason McLain, Yeo designed a custom experiment that replicated the moon's harsh, airless environment using a unique chamber containing a solar particle beam, vacuum conditions, and a molecule detector. 'It took a long time and many iterations to design the apparatus components and get them all to fit inside,' McLain said. 'But it was worth it, because once we eliminated all possible sources of contamination, we learned that this decades-old idea about the solar wind turns out to be true.' The experiment used lunar dust samples collected during NASA's Apollo 17 mission in 1972. After removing any traces of moisture by baking the samples, the team exposed them to simulated solar wind using a particle accelerator, mimicking about 80,000 years of lunar exposure in just a few days. When solar wind protons, essentially hydrogen nuclei, slam into the moon's surface, they find no resistance. Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere protect it from these particles, but the moon, which lacks both, takes the full impact. These protons collide with electrons in the moon's regolith, forming hydrogen atoms. Those hydrogen atoms then combine with oxygen in minerals like silica to form hydroxyl (OH) and possibly water (H₂O). 'The exciting thing here is that with only lunar soil and a basic ingredient from the sun, which is always spitting out hydrogen, there's a possibility of creating water,' Yeo said. 'That's incredible to think about.' Researchers used a spectrometer to monitor how the chemical makeup of the lunar dust changed over time. They noticed a dip in infrared light absorption around 3 microns, a signature associated with the presence of water. Although the team couldn't confirm if pure water formed, the data strongly pointed to the production of both hydroxyl and water molecules. NASA's Artemis program aims to return astronauts to the moon, particularly the South Pole, where much of the moon's frozen water is believed to exist in permanently shadowed craters. The study's findings offer important insight into how water may continue to form even today. In past spacecraft observations, researchers noted that the spectral signal associated with water shifts throughout the lunar day. The signal intensifies in the cooler morning and fades as the surface heats—likely due to the movement or escape of water molecules. As the surface cools again at night, the signal returns. This cycle hints at an active, ongoing process, driven primarily by the solar wind. While other factors like micrometeorites may contribute, this new research strengthens the case for the sun's role as the moon's water source and opens new possibilities for harvesting that water to support future human exploration. The study is published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.
