NASA announced that it discovered water on the sunlit surface of the Moon yesterday. Previous discoveries confirmed the presence of ice in permanently shadowed craters near the Moon’s poles, but the new discovery marks the first time that water molecules have been identified on the sunlit portion of its surface. The water was detected by NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) in the Clavius Crater in the Moon’s southern hemisphere.
Extra: NASA noted that while the amount of water detected was relatively small (accounting for 100 times less than the amount contained in the Sahara desert), the discovery could have implications for its Artemis program (which aims to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon by the end of the decade).
