Chang’E-5 samples reveal high water content in lunar minerals

Chuanjiao Zhou, Hong Tang (), Xiongyao Li (), Xiaojia Zeng, Bing Mo, Wen Yu, Yanxue Wu, Xiandi Zeng, Jianzhong Liu and Yuanyun Wen
Additional contact information
Chuanjiao Zhou: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Hong Tang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xiongyao Li: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xiaojia Zeng: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Bing Mo: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Wen Yu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yanxue Wu: Guangdong University of Technology
Xiandi Zeng: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jianzhong Liu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yuanyun Wen: Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract The formation and distribution of lunar surficial water remains ambiguous. Here, we show the prominence of water (OH/H2O) attributed to solar wind implantation on the uppermost surface of olivine, plagioclase, and pyroxene grains from Chang’E-5 samples. The results of spectral and microstructural analyses indicate that solar wind-derived water is affected by exposure time, crystal structure, and mineral composition. Our estimate of a minimum of 170 ppm water content in lunar soils in the Chang’E-5 region is consistent with that reported by the Moon Minerology Mapper and Chang’E-5 lander. By comparing with remote sensing data and through lunar soil maturity analysis, the amount of water in Chang’E-5 provides a reference for the distribution of surficial water in middle latitude of the Moon. We conclude that minerals in lunar soils are important reservoirs of water, and formation and retention of water originating from solar wind occurs on airless bodies.

Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-33095-1 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-022-33095-1

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33095-1

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().