Electrons from Earth Forming Water on Moon, Suggests Chandrayaan-1 Data

Analysis of data from India’s Chandrayaan-1 moon mission has led to the discovery that high-energy electrons from the Earth may be forming water on the Moon.

The research team led by scientists from the University of Hawai’i (UH) at Manoa in the US discovered that these electrons in Earth’s plasma sheet are breaking down or dissolving the rocks and minerals on the Moon’s surface and may have helped in the formation of water on the moon.

Their research finding is published in the journal Nature Astronomy.

The new finding may also help explain the origin of the water ice discovered in the permanently shaded regions of the Moon.

Chandrayaan-1 launched in 2008, discovered the possibility of water on the lunar surface.

This finding and the team’s previous study of rusty lunar poles indicate that the Earth is strongly tied with its Moon in many unrecognised aspects.