Solar wind could be making water on the Moon

Constant gusts of particles from the Sun may be creating water molecules on the Moon, a new NASA-led experiment hints.

- DAMIEN PINE

Scientists have detected traces of water, as well as hydroxyl (OH) molecules, a component of water, on the surface of the Moon through multiple space missions. The source of this water has long been a mystery, though some theories suggest volcanism, outgassing from deeper in lunar regolith – the combination of rock and dust on the surface of the Moon – and bombardment by tiny meteorites. The new NASA experiment tests a different idea: that solar wind is behind it all.