New source of water found in moon samples from China mission

By MARCIA DUNN
AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Scientists have discovered a new and renewable source of water on the moon for future explorers in lunar samples returned from a Chinese mission. They reported Monday that the water is embedded in tiny glass beads in the lunar dirt where meteorite impacts occur. They base their findings on samples returned from the moon by China in 2020. It would take lots of these small beads to produce enough water for one astronaut. The findings were published in the journal Nature Geoscience. Previous studies found water in glass beads formed by lunar volcanic activity, based on samples returned by the Apollo moonwalkers.