Planets and Moons ID: 11292

Water on the Moon

Released on June 3, 2013

Since 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.

Credits

Ernie Wright (USRA): Lead Animator
Chris Smith (HTSI): Animator
Chris Meaney (HTSI): Animator
Silvia Stoyanova (USRA): Video Editor
Dan Gallagher (USRA): Video Editor
Erin McKinley (OSU): Narrator
Silvia Stoyanova (USRA): Producer
Dan Gallagher (USRA): Producer
Tim McClanahan (NASA): Scientist
Silvia Stoyanova (USRA): Writer
Dan Gallagher (USRA): Writer

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11292

Mission:
LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter)

This item is part of this series:
Narrated Movies

Goddard TV Tape:
G2013-013 -- LRO/Lend: Is there water on the Moon?

Keywords:
SVS >> HDTV
SVS >> Hydrogen
SVS >> Moon
SVS >> Water
SVS >> Neutron
SVS >> LRO
SVS >> LEND
DLESE >> Narrated
NASA Science >> Planets and Moons
SVS >> Permanently Shadowed Regions