Finding Water on the Moon: Research
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Over the last 15 years observations have hinted at the presence of water on the moon, so in order to find out for sure NASA launched the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) in September 2009. Composed of two main parts, a rocket and a guiding spacecraft, LCROSS was sent into orbit around the Earth.
Artist's rendition of Centaur upper stage rocket approaching the moon with the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), 'shepherding satellite,' attached.
Credit: NASA.
![Artist's rendering of the LCROSS spacecraft and Centaur [rocket] separation.](/explore/action/images/separation.jpg "Artist's rendering of the LCROSS spacecraft and Centaur [rocket] separation.")
Artist's rendering of the LCROSS spacecraft and Centaur [rocket] separation.
Credit: NASA
![A zoom-in of the fresh Centaur [rocket] impact as seen in the LCROSS near-infrared camera.](/explore/action/images/rocket2.jpg "A zoom-in of the fresh Centaur [rocket] impact as seen in the LCROSS near-infrared camera.")
A zoom-in of the fresh Centaur [rocket] impact as seen in the LCROSS near-infrared camera.
Credit: NASA
After orbiting the Earth a few times, LCROSS split in two and, at twice the speed of a bullet, the rocket crashed straight into a crater at the moon’s south pole. The blast kicked up a cloud of dust, rocks and debris from the crater floor while the guiding spacecraft took pictures. A few minutes later, the guiding spacecraft headed straight into the cloud and crashed into the moon, sending data about the debris back to Earth.
The guiding spacecraft had a lot of instruments on board for collecting data, but the primary instruments for detecting water were infrared spectrometers. When light passes through water molecules, the molecules absorb some very specific wavelengths of light in the infrared range. This changes the shape of the spectrum in a way that can only be explained by the presence of water. The data from LCROSS showed this telltale sign of water in the debris kicked up from the impact site.
Scientists are not sure exactly how much water there is on the moon, but LCROSS detected at least 25 gallons. That is a significant amount according to NASA, especially considering that the crater was only about 20 meters across.
Other data from LCROSS is still being analyzed and not much is known about the overall quantity or distribution of water on the moon. But we do know that advances in engineering, technology, and our understanding of the universe is opening many possibilities for the future—maybe even for a trip to Mars! But in order to be prepared for extreme experiences like this, we need a much better understanding of the space environment. The moon is a great training ground and just a 4-day trip away.
Spectrometers measure the amount of light coming from an object. They collect this data over a range of wavelengths, for example from red to blue light in the case of a visible light spectrometer.
The resulting graph has a specific shape that depends on the materials that the light had to pass through to get to the spectrometer.
