Water On The Moon
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- Visualizations by:
- Ernie Wright
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- Written by:
- Kerry Klein
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- Scientific consulting by:
- John Keller,
- Richard Vondrak, and
- Tim McClanahan
- View full credits
While probes and orbiters search the far-flung corners of the solar system for water, one spacecraft holds evidence that it could be hiding right in our backyard—on the moon. Data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) suggest that water ice lies frozen near the surface at the moon’s cold, dark poles. LRO looks for water using its Lunar Explorer Neutron Detector (LEND) instrument, which detects the presence of hydrogen atoms by counting neutrons released from the moon’s soils. The measurements allow scientists to create maps that show areas of the moon that are rich in hydrogen, the main ingredient of water. Since LRO’s launch in 2009, the mission has identified likely deposits of water ice in a handful of craters on the moon’s south pole, including shadowy regions that have gone without sunlight for millions or even billions of years. Watch the video to learn more.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
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Animators
- Ernie Wright (USRA) [Lead]
- Chris Smith (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
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Writer
- Kerry Klein (USRA) [Lead]
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Video editor
- Chris Smith (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
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Scientists
- John Keller (NASA/GSFC) [Lead]
- Richard Vondrak (NASA/GSFC) [Lead]
- Tim McClanahan (NASA) [Lead]
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Producers
- Chris Smith (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
- Dan Gallagher (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
- Silvia Stoyanova (USRA)
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Narration
- Chris Smith (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
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Narrator
- Chris Smith (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
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ID: 11292 Produced Video
Water on the Moon
Read moreSince the 1960’s, scientists have suspected that frozen water could survive in cold, dark craters at the Moon’s poles. While previous lunar missions have detected hints of water on the Moon, new data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) pinpoints areas near the south pole where water is likely to exist. The key to this discovery is hydrogen, the main ingredient in water: LRO uses its Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector, or LEND, to measure how much hydrogen is trapped within the lunar soil. By combining years of LEND data, scientists see mounting evidence of hydrogen-rich areas near the Moon’s south pole, strongly suggesting the presence of frozen water. ||
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ID: 4057 Visualization
LEND Looks for Water at the South Pole
Read moreSince Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) entered lunar orbit in 2009, its neutron detector, LEND, has been counting the neutrons coming from the Moon's surface.Neutrons are created when galactic cosmic rays strike atoms in the lunar regolith. These neutrons bounce from atom to atom like billiard balls, losing energy with each collision. Along the way, some of these neutrons escape into space, where LEND can detect them.The presence of hydrogen in the lunar soil reduces the number of neutrons that escape. To map out likely deposits of water ice, LEND scientists look for this deficit of neutrons in the epithermal (medium) energy range.If the deficit were simply due to random fluctuations, the hydrogen map would never coalesce into a sharp image, but as this animation shows, the map of epithermal neutron deficit at the south pole of the Moon improves over time and converges on particular spots. These include especially strong signals in the permanently shadowed parts of Cabeus and Shoemaker craters, where ice would be completely shielded from the sun. But LEND and other missions have found signs of water in places that aren't permanently shadowed while apparently excluding some places that are, both of which are surprising and exciting discoveries. ||
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ID: 10743 Produced Video
LEND: The Lunar Neutron Counter
Read moreHow would you find out where to look for water on the Moon? NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has a unique answer: Count the neutrons coming from the Moon! By measuring the relative amounts of slow and fast neutrons coming from soil on the Moon, scientists think they can estimate the amount of hydrogen. And it's believed that where there's hydrogen, there might also be water! Find out more about LEND by watching this video. ||
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