A diagram demonstrating the hydrogen ions from the Sun being brought to the lunar surface at a high speed and are preserved in the surface layer of lunar soils. /Handout from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics at Chinese Academy of Sciences
Water locked inside soil on the moon's surface could be more than scientists previously expected, according to a study published on Tuesday.
A group of Chinese scientists have concluded that the water content retained inside soils of the middle latitude region of the moon's surface is as high as an average of 0.7 weight percent in the topmost 0.1-micron zone of the lunar grains.
They also confirmed that the source of water is brought by the constant stream of charged particles from the sun known as the solar wind.
The findings, based on lunar samples retrieved by the Chang'e-5 mission that was launched two years ago, was published in the latest edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in a joint effort with scientists from the National Space Science Center (NSSC) and the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, both under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
The scientists also ran a model prediction that there might be large amount of water resources available for utilization at the high latitude region of the moon.
The water here refers to the structural water found in soil grains, according to Lin Yangting, a leading researcher of the study from IGG.
"Since hydrogen is one of the main components of water, the hydrogen concentration is usually used to express the water content," Lin said.
(With input from Xinhua)