In very exciting science news (which we don’t get very much of around here), scientists from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have announced that they found “significant” amounts of water on the moon! Some of you may be aware that in early October, NASA intentionally fired a satellite prob called the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) into the moon to see if any water deposits could be found. Making sure that their findings were correct, NASA waited until now to announce that they indeed did find water on the moon:

NASA said Friday it had discovered water on the moon, opening “a new chapter” that could allow for the development of a lunar space station. The discovery was announced by project scientist Anthony Colaprete at a midday news conference. “Indeed, yes, we found water,” he said. The find is based on preliminary data collected when the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, intentionally crashed October 9 into the permanently shadowed region of Cabeus crater near the moon’s south pole. After the satellite struck, a rocket flew through the debris cloud, measuring the amount of water and providing a host of other data, Colaprete said. The project team concentrated on data from the satellite’s spectrometers, which provide the best information about the presence of water, Colaprete said. A spectrometer helps identify the composition of materials by examining light they emit or absorb. Although the goal of the $79 million mission was to determine whether there is water on the moon, discoveries in other areas are expected as studies progress, Colaprete and other scientists said at the briefing at NASA’s Ames Research Center at Moffett Field near San Francisco, California. “The discovery opens a new chapter in our understanding of the moon,” the space agency said in a written statement shortly after the briefing began. Michael Wargo, chief lunar scientist at NASA headquarters in Washington, said the latest discovery also could unlock the mysteries of the solar system. He listed several options as sources for the water, including solar winds, comets, giant molecular clouds or even the moon itself through some kind of internal activity. The Earth also may have a role, Wargo said. “If the water that was formed or deposited is billions of years old, these polar cold traps could hold a key to the history and evolution of the solar system, much as an ice core sample taken on Earth reveals ancient data,” NASA said in its statement. “In addition, water and other compounds represent potential resources that could sustain future lunar exploration.”

I realize that this news isn’t gossy or necessarily pop culture-related but it’s such a significant scientific discovery that I just had to share it with all y’all. It’s so funny to think that the science we were taught in grade school can change so dramatically as new discoveries are made. I still can’t get over the fact that dinosaurs that we were taught “existed” in our youth no longer exist and new ones have been discovered. We’ve always believed that the moon was a desolate hunk of rock completely devoid of water … now we know that is not the case. I suppose it’s feasible that NASA would send astronauts back to the moon for further water study much like they did when man first walked on the moon 40 years ago back in 1969. This seems to me to be another leap for mankind … one that may one day lead to even more significant discovery on the moon. I mean … c’mon … how cool is this news?

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