Science: Search for ice water on Moon
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The question of whether the Moon harbours huge reserves of ice water should be answered in about a month. The Lunar Prospector (pictured above in an artist's impression) launched last week by the United States space agency Nasa, has started scouring the lunar surface for possible reserves of water which could prove invaluable for any future human Moon colonies. The four-foot robot explorer is orbiting the Moon 96 km above its surface.
The search for water will be carried out by a neutron spectrometer, which will search the surface for signs of hydrogen.
"If water ice is present in the quantity some people have predicted, we may know that in the first month of the mission," mission manager Scott Hubbard said.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments