By Victoria Bell For Mailonline
Published: 16:00 BST, 15 April 2019 | Updated: 08:34 BST, 16 April 2019
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Small meteors which crash into the moon are cause it to leak water buried just three inches (8cm) below the lunar surface, according to NASA scientists.
They suggest that the subsurface moisture that is being released has been retained since the Moon formed, or soon after.
The researchers estimate that meteorite impacts on the Moon cause the loss of as much as 200 tonnes (220 tons) of water per year.
The impacts hit soil which is dry 3 inches (8cm) deep underneath which is a layer with about 0.05 per cent water content which is spewed out on impact.
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The researchers estimate that meteorite impacts on the Moon cause the loss of as much as 200 tonnes of water per year. The impacts hit soil which is dry 3 inches (8cm) deep underneath which is a layer with about 0.05% water content which is spewed out on impact
Following the early analysis of lunar samples from the Apollo and Luna missions, the surface was generally accepted to be anhydrous, or contained no water
But a decade ago, trace amounts were found on the surface of the Moon, and not only in polar ice deposits as previously thought.
Researchers say the water originated on the moon due to a combination of solar wind and meteor tires bringing it to the barren surface.
However, the source and extent of these water traces have been debated.
When a speck of space debris strikes the moon it vaporises on impact, creating a shock wave that resonates through the lunar soil.
For a sufficiently large impactor, this shock wave can breach the soil's dry upper layer and release water molecules from a hydrated layer below.
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