Courtesy of NASA
Space never ceases to provide us wonders. You’ve heard that there is water on Mars. Did you know about the water on the Moon? Live Science has an interesting article, Controversial New Idea Surfaces on Origin of Moon’s Water By Clara Moskowitz, Staff Writer about the source of the water recently found all over on the moon’s surface.
Some astronomers think that hydrogen ions from solar wind are reacting with oxygen in the lunar soils to produce water. Other astronomers think that the water came from meteors crashing into the Moons surface. One of the astronomers discussed in the article highlighted by Live Science believes that the water in the lunar core is slowly seeping out to the surface. Some scientists think that more than one theory explains why water is on the moon.
Photo courtesy of NASA
How did scientists discover that there was water in the lunar core? They found it trapped inside volcanic rock which reached the surface by flowing from the Moon’s core and down the side of a volcano, or maybe shooting through the air to some distant location. These rocks were brought back to earth by astronauts in the Apollo Space Program.
Friday, October 9, NASA is crashing some rockets into the Moon just to stir things up and break through the surface, hoping to generate a lot more data about what the moon is made of. I’m taking bets they find green cheese. That’s also the source of the water. I’m from Wisconsin. We believe in cheese.
All of the discussion about the source of water on the moon made me think of all the scientific knowledge that is used for learning about space and places like the Moon. There is chemistry, geology, physics and engineering. These are the tools of discovery and invention in our modern times.
Many students are scared off by the complicated appearance of science, but science and math need to be learned like a language. Once the language of science is learned a doorway into a universe of wonders is opened. And it isn’t too early to begin. In fact, the earlier our children are exposed to science, the better.
Space Scientists have located what they believe are tunnels beneath the surface of Mars. Probably formed by volcanic activity, these tunnels may harbor existing or former microbial life. This story is reported on LiveScience.com and titled Mars Caves Might Protect Microbes (or Astronauts). They may also prove suitable to protect astronauts from manned Mars missions from some of the harsher martian environmental extremes, such as radiation or dust storms.
If you’re interested in an good introduction to the science of astrobiology, or life in outer space, check out Life on Earth — and Beyond: An Astrobiologist’s Quest
