(Image source from: Abundance of hydrogen on Moon's pole-facing slopes})

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft has discovered more hydrogen in abundance on Moon's pole-facing slopes, reports reveal. The discovery of hydrogen-bearing molecules, possibly including water, on the moon surface has made explorers excited because of these deposits and sparing the considerable expense of getting water from Earth. The lunar water can be used for drinking or its components, hydrogen and oxygen, may be used to manufacture important products on the moon’s surface, for future visitors needs in the moon, like rocket fuel and breathable air.

Timothy McClanahan of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, said that there's an average of about 23 parts-per-million-by-weight (ppmw) more hydrogen on Pole-Facing Slopes (PFS) than on Equator-Facing Slopes (EFS). This was the first time a widespread geochemical difference in hydrogen abundance between PFS and EFS on the moon has been detected.

In addition to seeing if the same pattern exists in the moon's northern hemisphere, the team wants to see if the hydrogen abundance changes with the transition from day to night. If so, it would substantiate existing evidence of a very active production and cycling of hydrogen on the lunar surface, according to McClanahan.

By Premji