2020 finally has some good news for all of us as NASA discovered molecular water on a sunlit surface of the Moon.
They confirmed water may not be limited to cold, shadowed places and suggested that there may be more water on the moon’s surface than previously thought.
For the 1st time, molecular water was discovered on a sunlit surface of the Moon, suggesting water may not be limited to cold, shadowed places. Goddard postdoc Dr. Casey Honniball, made the discovery using NASA’s @SOFIAtelescope airborne observatory. https://t.co/TUFKK8Rl9x pic.twitter.com/1wiy05yS4r
— NASA Goddard (@NASAGoddard) October 26, 2020
NASA made this discovery using the SOFIA flying observatory. The scientists also suggested that this discovery will be beneficial for astronauts at future lunar bases who could tap into these resources for drinking and making rocket fuel.
We detected water on the Moon’s sunlit surface for the first time! This suggests water may be distributed across the lunar surface, and not limited to cold, shadowed places.
— SOFIAtelescope (@SOFIAtelescope) October 26, 2020
Tune in live to learn more: https://t.co/t3AhWT3hNJ https://t.co/73u4hrX90V
However, Twitter had a take on this discovery. While some called it a huge milestone, others made a few jokes.
Listening to the announcement now. This is a huge milestone. Bravo!!! 🌟🌟🌟
— Budi Prasetya (@budiprasetya) October 26, 2020
— lɘTꙅoᴙT TTAM 🙈🙉🙊 (@TrostelBrew) October 27, 2020
ISRO Right Now….. pic.twitter.com/ZafmHrjvDw
— SPIDERMAN UK (RSS) (@KShyrush) October 26, 2020
Water: https://t.co/a8UK8Olws1 pic.twitter.com/23C28HSdBP
— Netflix India (@NetflixIndia) October 26, 2020
Dang it….my money was on a giant monolith…. pic.twitter.com/63aWc878jb
— C. D. Browne Ph.D. (@Cdbrow1) October 26, 2020
Wow! Very impressive work by NASA and the Sofia telescope scientists. Congratulations!
— Valarie Ellis (@Valarie811) October 26, 2020
Lemme take a sip pic.twitter.com/KNu5yNmxtz
— Leo (@LChurch814) October 26, 2020
Great news! Swimsuit is ready!!
— Spooky Erika 🦇 (@Astro_Fonseca) October 26, 2020
Ok i will get my single malt than
— Bangalore/mironway (@mironway) October 27, 2020
Congratulations folks! Outstanding job!
— I Voted 🇺🇸 ☸️ (@DadSpots) October 26, 2020
After all these years, with millions and millions of dollars spent and thousands of data points sent back by the rover, we now find out there’s H2O on the moon. That’s it?
— david grigg (@davidgr23637706) October 27, 2020
Congratulations folks! Outstanding job!
— I Voted 🇺🇸 ☸️ (@DadSpots) October 26, 2020
In 2009, India’s first lunar mission, Chandrayaan-1, was the first to find water on the moon’s surface. At the time, researchers found it difficult to confirm whether it was water – H20 – or hydroxyl molecules.