{"id":693,"date":"2019-02-19T12:51:01","date_gmt":"2019-02-19T12:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/horizon.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=693"},"modified":"2019-02-19T12:51:01","modified_gmt":"2019-02-19T12:51:01","slug":"the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/693\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\/","title":{"rendered":"The moon\u2019s water: where did it come from \u2013 and where did it all go?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
\n
\n

Fragments of moon rock brought back from the lunar surface by astronauts on the Apollo space missions are providing new insights about where our planet\u2019s life-giving water came from.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

The next time you take a sip of water, take a moment to consider where it has come from. It may have travelled from a local reservoir to your tap, while bottled water can come from springs in another country entirely.<\/p>\n

But new research suggests the water we drink and depend upon to sustain life here on Earth may have its origins in a far more distant place \u2013 outer space.<\/p>\n

New analysis of moon rock fragments brought back by Apollo astronauts in the 1960s and 1970s suggests much of the water on our planet was carried here by asteroids and comets that collided with the Earth shortly after it formed 4.54 billion years ago.<\/p>\n

The research, which uses modern techniques to look at the composition of chemical traces in the rocks, is also providing new evidence to support theories about how the Moon itself formed and how the traces of water found on its surface got there.<\/p>\n

\u2018The moon is like a time capsule,\u2019 said Professor Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Moynier, a cosmochemist at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, in France. \u2018Its rocks are far older than anything we can find here on Earth, so they hold a lot of valuable information.\u2019<\/p>\n

Unchanged<\/strong><\/p>\n

Volcanic activity and the continuous movement of tectonic plates have destroyed all of the oldest rocks here on Earth. The oldest to be found here, found in a few locations like Greenland, are just 3.8 billion years old.<\/p>\n

The moon\u2019s rocks, however, have remained largely unchanged since it formed 4.51 billion years ago. Hidden inside the minerals in the rocks are tiny quantities of chemicals such as zinc, potassium, copper, chromium and even water, which was also found to exist in\u00a0small frozen deposits in meteorite impact craters<\/a>\u00a0on the lunar surface last year. These chemicals are known as volatiles due to their relatively low boiling points, which means they can evaporate from a planet\u2019s \u2013 or a moon\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n

By looking at the relative amounts of different isotopes of these volatiles in lunar rocks, scientists like Prof. Moynier have pieced together information about the moon\u2019s early history and compare this to what we find here on Earth.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\u2018The moon is like a time capsule.\u2019<\/p>\n

Professor Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Moynier, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, France<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

These isotopes\u2019 ratios act like a fingerprint that can be used to match the source of the materials found on Earth and the moon. Dr Mahesh Anand, a reader in planetary science at The Open University in the UK and leader of a project called\u00a0RESOLVE<\/a>, has been using sophisticated spectroscopy techniques to study the volatile isotopes trapped inside crystals of a mineral called apatite in rocks brought back by the Apollo missions.<\/p>\n

He and his colleagues have then compared these to the isotopic compositions of volatiles here on Earth, along with those found on asteroids and comets, which have been obtained from meteorites found on Earth and interplanetary space missions to visit comets, such as the European Space Agency\u2019s recent Rosetta mission.<\/p>\n

Water<\/strong><\/p>\n

Three years ago, Dr Anand was part of a study which proposed 80-90% of the water on Earth and the moon\u00a0came from an asteroid-like source<\/a>. \u2018Less than 10% came from a comet-like source,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

Last year, he and his team\u00a0published further findings<\/a>\u00a0based on high precision analysis of the oxygen isotopes found in rocks on the Earth and moon. They found only tiny differences between the isotopic properties on the two bodies.<\/p>\n

\u2018If the water had arrived after the moon had formed, the two would have had very different isotopic fingerprints,\u2019 said Dr Anand. \u2018It suggests that the Earth and the moon received water together at the same time.\u2019<\/p>\n

This points to a tantalising scenario \u2013 for a small body like the moon to have obtained the same isotopic composition suggests they may have been part of the same planet. It supports theories that a Mars-sized protoplanet called Theia crashed into Earth a little over 4.54 billion years ago, throwing out a shower or vapour and debris, which condensed to form our moon.<\/p>\n

If the Earth and moon formed in this giant impact after water had already arrived, as the findings by Dr Anand and other teams now suggest, the moon should have received a share of that water. Minute quantities of oxygen and hydrogen\u00a0trapped inside rocks beneath the surface<\/a>\u00a0suggest there was\u00a0once more water on the moon<\/a>\u00a0than there is now. Recent unmanned missions to the moon have discovered a few remnants of water ice trapped in sheltered craters around the poles, but much of the moon\u2019s surface is now dry.<\/p>\n

So where did the moon’s water go?<\/p>\n

This is where Prof. Moynier\u2019s work comes in. He is leading a project called\u00a0PRISTINE<\/a>\u00a0that aims to measure the isotopic levels of volatiles in lunar rock to learn what happened to the water on the moon.<\/p>\n

\u2018The difference between the isotopes is weight as the atoms have different numbers of neutrons in the nucleus,\u2019 said Prof. Moynier. \u2018When you heat up volatiles like zinc, potassium and water, the isotopes behave in different ways. The lighter ones will turn to vapour more readily while the heavier ones will remain behind in the residue.\u2019<\/p>\n

Proxies<\/strong><\/p>\n

By looking at the ratio of heavy isotopes to light ones in more than 40 Apollo rock samples, Prof. Moynier and his team have pieced together some of the history of water and other volatiles on the moon.<\/p>\n

They have focused on solid volatiles like zinc and potassium because there are relatively higher concentrations of them in lunar rocks than water.<\/p>\n

\u2018Water is so volatile that there is very little of it in lunar rocks, which makes it hard to detect in the small samples we are dealing with,\u2019 explained Prof. Moynier. \u2018So we can use other volatiles like zinc, potassium and copper as proxies that can tell us something about what happened to the water. Even so, there is 100 times less zinc in lunar rocks than those on Earth.\u2019<\/p>\n

Prof. Moynier and his colleagues found that as well as having far less chromium, zinc and other solid volatiles, the traces from the moon had different isotopic ratios compared to Earth – theirs had far more heavier isotopes.<\/p>\n

\u2018It suggests that the moon got depleted in these volatile elements by evaporation at some point,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

He believes that rather than being lost in the giant impact that cleaved the moon from the Earth in the first place, it may have\u00a0lost its water and other volatiles sometime later<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It is thought that after the moon began to form following the giant impact, its surface remained molten for several million years. This magma ocean is thought to be what led to the distinctive light and dark areas, or mare, that are visible on the moon\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n

\u2018As the isotope distribution depends on temperature, we can use it as a thermometer to tell us what happened,\u2019 said Prof. Moynier. He and his team have used chromium isotopes to calibrate what they were seeing in the lunar samples to temperature.<\/p>\n

They found the volatiles were not lost at the extremely high temperatures that would be expected in an event like a giant impact, but at\u00a0lower temperatures of 1,200 degrees C<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Gravity<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018This is exactly what the temperature of the magma ocean of the moon is supposed to be,\u2019 said Prof. Moynier. \u2018What we see is that the moon lost its volatiles not during the giant impact itself, but maybe a million or so years afterwards.<\/p>\n

\u2018They evaporated off, but due to the gravity of the Earth, they probably then fell back onto the Earth. So some of our water and other volatiles have come from the moon. Not a lot, but some.\u2019<\/p>\n

But the story doesn\u2019t quite end there either. Dr Anand and his colleague Dr Ana \u010cernok, a geochemist at The Open University, have been studying the effect of meteoroid impacts on the isotopic compositions of volatiles in lunar rocks.<\/p>\n

Gathered from a variety of sites during NASA\u2019s Apollo 17 manned mission to the moon in 1972, the samples consist of surface rocks, cores drilled down below the surface, and material from impact craters.<\/p>\n

The two have been able to look for signs of shock in the apatite crystals that would have been caused by meteoroid impacts. They found that while some of the samples show significant signs of shock, the isotopic compositions remain largely unaffected.<\/p>\n

This suggests that the volatiles like water trapped inside these crystals have not been altered despite bombardment from meteorites on the moon. Other substances like uranium trapped inside the apatite crystals along with the water have also allowed them to date when they formed.<\/p>\n

The results still have to be published, but Dr Anand says they are finding ages that have never been recorded in lunar samples.<\/p>\n

\u2018We are still trying to figure it out ourselves, but it seems to be pointing to a unique event in the geological history of the Earth-moon system.\u2019<\/p>\n

The research in this article was funded by the EU. If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.<\/em><\/p>\n

Originally published on Horizon<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fragments of moon rock brought back from the lunar surface by astronauts on the Apollo space missions are providing new insights about where our planet\u2019s life-giving water came from. The next time you take a sip of water, take a moment to consider where it has come from. It may have travelled from a local … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":322,"featured_media":694,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[25,230,79,24,35],"class_list":["post-693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-space","tag-innovation","tag-moon","tag-research","tag-science","tag-space"],"yoast_head":"\nThe moon\u2019s water: where did it come from \u2013 and where did it all go? - Horizon Magazine Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/693\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The moon\u2019s water: where did it come from \u2013 and where did it all go?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Fragments of moon rock brought back from the lunar surface by astronauts on the Apollo space missions are providing new insights about where our planet\u2019s life-giving water came from. The next time you take a sip of water, take a moment to consider where it has come from. It may have travelled from a local ... Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/693\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Horizon Magazine Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-02-19T12:51:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/02\/moonandysmith2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1365\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Richard Gray\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Richard Gray\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/693\\\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/693\\\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Richard Gray\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/042c9393ea152c13c0b8b9ba82055602\"},\"headline\":\"The moon\u2019s water: where did it come from \u2013 and where did it all go?\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-02-19T12:51:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/693\\\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1576,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/693\\\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/moonandysmith2.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"innovation\",\"moon\",\"research\",\"science\",\"space\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Space\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2019\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/693\\\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/693\\\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\\\/\",\"name\":\"The moon\u2019s water: where did it come from \u2013 and where did it all go? - Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/693\\\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/693\\\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/moonandysmith2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-02-19T12:51:01+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/693\\\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/693\\\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/693\\\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/moonandysmith2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/moonandysmith2.jpg\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":1365,\"caption\":\"New findings suggest that if the moon formed after a giant impact after water had had been received, it should have gotten a share of that water. The question is - where did it go? Image Credit - ANDY SMITH ASTRONOMY\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/693\\\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The moon\u2019s water: where did it come from \u2013 and where did it all go?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\",\"name\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"description\":\"The EU Research & Innovation Magazine\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/eu-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/eu-logo.jpg\",\"width\":601,\"height\":283,\"caption\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/042c9393ea152c13c0b8b9ba82055602\",\"name\":\"Richard Gray\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0fb7fc92c5bb1fcd60351c743b49fd95f24fb8e4a238bab4922f42709dcbd847?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0fb7fc92c5bb1fcd60351c743b49fd95f24fb8e4a238bab4922f42709dcbd847?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0fb7fc92c5bb1fcd60351c743b49fd95f24fb8e4a238bab4922f42709dcbd847?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Richard Gray\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/author\\\/richardgray\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The moon\u2019s water: where did it come from \u2013 and where did it all go? - Horizon Magazine Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/693\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The moon\u2019s water: where did it come from \u2013 and where did it all go?","og_description":"Fragments of moon rock brought back from the lunar surface by astronauts on the Apollo space missions are providing new insights about where our planet\u2019s life-giving water came from. The next time you take a sip of water, take a moment to consider where it has come from. It may have travelled from a local ... Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/693\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\/","og_site_name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","article_published_time":"2019-02-19T12:51:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2048,"height":1365,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/02\/moonandysmith2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Richard Gray","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Richard Gray","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/693\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/693\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\/"},"author":{"name":"Richard Gray","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/person\/042c9393ea152c13c0b8b9ba82055602"},"headline":"The moon\u2019s water: where did it come from \u2013 and where did it all go?","datePublished":"2019-02-19T12:51:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/693\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\/"},"wordCount":1576,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/693\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/02\/moonandysmith2.jpg","keywords":["innovation","moon","research","science","space"],"articleSection":["Space"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2019","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/693\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\/","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/693\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\/","name":"The moon\u2019s water: where did it come from \u2013 and where did it all go? - Horizon Magazine Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/693\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/693\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/02\/moonandysmith2.jpg","datePublished":"2019-02-19T12:51:01+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/693\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/693\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/693\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/02\/moonandysmith2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/02\/moonandysmith2.jpg","width":2048,"height":1365,"caption":"New findings suggest that if the moon formed after a giant impact after water had had been received, it should have gotten a share of that water. The question is - where did it go? Image Credit - ANDY SMITH ASTRONOMY"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/693\/the-moons-water-where-did-it-come-from-and-where-did-it-all-go\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The moon\u2019s water: where did it come from \u2013 and where did it all go?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#website","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/","name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","description":"The EU Research & Innovation Magazine","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization","name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/04\/eu-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/04\/eu-logo.jpg","width":601,"height":283,"caption":"Horizon Magazine Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/person\/042c9393ea152c13c0b8b9ba82055602","name":"Richard Gray","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0fb7fc92c5bb1fcd60351c743b49fd95f24fb8e4a238bab4922f42709dcbd847?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0fb7fc92c5bb1fcd60351c743b49fd95f24fb8e4a238bab4922f42709dcbd847?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0fb7fc92c5bb1fcd60351c743b49fd95f24fb8e4a238bab4922f42709dcbd847?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Richard Gray"},"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/author\/richardgray\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/02\/moonandysmith2.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgtNKV-bb","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1288,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1288\/the-food-and-water-systems-astronauts-will-need-to-travel-to-places-like-mars\/","url_meta":{"origin":693,"position":0},"title":"The food and water systems astronauts will need to travel to places like Mars","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"May 19, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by\u00a0Jonathan O\u2019Callaghan If humans are to travel to distant destinations in space like the moon or Mars, they\u2019ll need ways to live for long periods of time. And one of the key challenges of that includes how to have safe food and water to eat and drink when far from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "ICT"","block_context":{"text":"ICT","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/ict\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The prototype space greenhouse developed by the TIME SCALE project showed that it is possible to recycle nutrients and water to grow food. Image credit - Karoliussen","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/TIME-SCALE_crop.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/TIME-SCALE_crop.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/TIME-SCALE_crop.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/TIME-SCALE_crop.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/TIME-SCALE_crop.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/05\/TIME-SCALE_crop.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":661,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/661\/the-moon-is-a-history-museum-and-weve-only-visited-the-gift-shop\/","url_meta":{"origin":693,"position":1},"title":"\u2018The moon is a history museum and we\u2019ve only visited the gift shop\u2019","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"February 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Humans have not set foot on the moon since 1972, when the last Apollo mission came back to Earth. That could all change in the coming years, however, as entities like the European Space Agency (ESA) are preparing not just to return, but to build a permanent base on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Space"","block_context":{"text":"Space","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/space\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/02\/moon.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/02\/moon.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/02\/moon.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/02\/moon.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/02\/moon.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/02\/moon.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":683,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/683\/683\/","url_meta":{"origin":693,"position":2},"title":"How to keep lunar samples safe","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"February 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"By Gareth Willmer A lunar rover that can analyse samples in situ and a Europe-wide facility to store extraterrestrial samples will help to protect moon samples from contamination and increase their usability in scientific experiments. In 1969, the Apollo 12 mission retrieved a camera that had been left on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Space"","block_context":{"text":"Space","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/space\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Image credit - LUVMI consortium","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/02\/IMG_0205_small.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/02\/IMG_0205_small.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/02\/IMG_0205_small.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/02\/IMG_0205_small.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/02\/IMG_0205_small.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/02\/IMG_0205_small.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2407,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/2407\/unlocking-the-secrets-to-mars\/","url_meta":{"origin":693,"position":3},"title":"Unlocking the secrets to Mars","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"June 19, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Simulating the Red Planet\u2019s geology and hydrology reveals how the landscape has changed, helping the search for landing sites for future missions. By Michael Allen Humans have been fascinated by Mars probably since the first of the species turned their gaze to the night sky. Space exploration today attests to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/06\/19.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/06\/19.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/06\/19.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/06\/19.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/06\/19.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/06\/19.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1236,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1236\/qa-human-spaceflight-is-a-risk-worth-taking-says-esa-head\/","url_meta":{"origin":693,"position":4},"title":"Q&A: Human spaceflight is a risk worth taking, says ESA head","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"April 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by\u00a0Jonathan O\u2019Callaghan Human spaceflight is dangerous, but worth the risk, according to Jan W\u00f6rner, the Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA). But even so, there are limits \u2013 like Mars. Robots, as proxies for human exploration, can take on dangerous missions by travelling to places astronauts are not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Space"","block_context":{"text":"Space","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/space\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"If an astronaut reports about the fragility and the beauty of the Earth, then this word is much stronger than any robotic system, says W\u00f6rner. Image credit - Pixabay, licenced under CC0","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Astronaut.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Astronaut.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Astronaut.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Astronaut.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Astronaut.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Astronaut.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1389,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1389\/moonquakes-and-marsquakes-how-we-peer-inside-other-worlds\/","url_meta":{"origin":693,"position":5},"title":"Moonquakes and marsquakes: How we peer inside other worlds","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"August 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Eavesdropping on the shudders and groans echoing deep inside alien worlds like Mars and the moon is revealing what lies far beneath their surfaces and could teach us more about how our own planet formed. On Earth, we can feel and see the often terrifying results of the tectonic plates\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Space"","block_context":{"text":"Space","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/space\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/08\/AS11-40-5948HR-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/08\/AS11-40-5948HR-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/08\/AS11-40-5948HR-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/08\/AS11-40-5948HR-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/08\/AS11-40-5948HR-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/08\/AS11-40-5948HR-1.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/322"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}