Chinese scientists have made a stunning discovery during tests of samples taken from the Moon’s surface as China look to bridge the gap in the space race with the US and Russia
A group of Chinese scientists have announced in a newly published journal that they have made an astonishing discovery during their recent exploration of the Moon.
The discovery came from Chang’e 5’s samples during their recent trip to the planet and were later tested by researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences that revealed the presence of water in the Moon’s soil.
In the findings that were published in Nature Astronomy journal earlier this month the scientists revealed that: “Water molecules can persist in sunlit areas of the Moon in the form of hydrated salts.”
The Chinese scientists have confirmed the validity of samples, and that couldn’t have been affected by ‘rocket exhausts’, saying: “We rule out terrestrial contamination or rocket exhaust as the origin of this hydrate on the basis of its chemical and isotopic compositions and formation conditions.”
However, it’s not the first time that water has been detected on the moon as NASA infrared detector’s found the existence of water on the rocky planet in 2020, while even more recently scientists found evidence of water during analyses of samples from the 1960s and 70s.
Apollo astronauts had previously claimed that the Moon was dry, but in 2009 India’s Chandrayaan-1 mission found evidence of hydrated minerals on the planet.
Additionally, the discovery could mark a significant step forward in the mission to dominate space with Russia and US seemingly way ahead of the Chinese during their pursuits across our solar system over the last decades.
In recent years the Chinese have made concerted efforts to try and close the gap on the US and Russia in the exploration of space with their own space station, only the third country to do so.
They have also set out plans to send astronauts to the Moon by 2030.
