It is a natural desire for humans to explore and embark towards the unknown.  One of those major unknowns that every person sees every night is space.  We have always been attracted towards the countless amounts of beautiful stars and the luminescent moon we see every night right above us.  Although space has always been and most likely always will be a mystery, NASA has come out with some ground breaking discoveries.  Recently, they have discovered water molecules on the surface of the moon we see every night.

Yes, the long speculated question of if there was water on the moon has been answered.  NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, also known as SOFIA, discovered the water molecules.

What this means for NASA and humans is unknown because it could mean a lot.  People have always wondered if life could be sustained on other planets or the moon, and this discovery is a major step in answering that question.

The location of where these water molecules were found is actually a spot on the moon that many people see daily.  “SOFIA detected water molecules (H2O) in Clavius Crater, one of the largest craters visible from Earth, located in the Moon’s southern hemisphere,” stated NASA.  However, this is not the only information they released about this discovery.  They also stated that  “Previous observations of the Moon’s surface detected some form of hydrogen, but were unable to distinguish between water and its close chemical relative, hydroxyl (OH). Data from this location reveal water in concentrations of 100 to 412 parts per million—roughly equivalent to a 12-ounce bottle of water—trapped in a cubic meter of soil spread across the lunar surface.”  Absolutely crazy.

Now, I am not much of a math guy myself, but this does not sound like a great amount of water.  However, this was just discovered on a small sunlit surface of the moon.  Therefore, there could be much more water molecules located nearby, and there could also be water molecules located on the side of the moon we do not see.

Sadly, there is not much more information discovered about this water found.  NASA said that “We need to know more about the water to understand if and how we can use it for scientific exploration.”  Therefore, we will have to wait for further research to come out to see where this discovery takes us.

This discovery opens many more doors to space discover, and it hopefully gives society more interest in space and a yearning for exploration beyond the known.