Other
Scientific paper
Dec 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufm.p13h..01p&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #P13H-01
Other
[5421] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Interactions With Particles And Fields, [5460] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Physical Properties Of Materials, [6250] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Moon
Scientific paper
Since it is an old question, we might borrow some queries from archaic English that certainly could apply appropriately to lunar water and volatiles: Whence: ...from what place or source? Whither: ...to what place or state? ...what is the likely future of? Wherefore: ...for what reason? ...result of which? The last two years have reversed long-held impressions about a dry Moon, albeit with many twists and unresolved questions. This is an area of very active research and necessarily involves many groups. Although the story continues, we summarize our current understanding (and lack thereof) from recent measurements and observations. Water, OH, and H are terms that are often grouped together for convenience, but do not really reflect the same chemistry or physical state on the Moon. In order of discovery (and continuing research), we now know that excessive H exists at the lunar poles, but occurs at lesser amounts across the surface, that water from the lunar interior is about as abundant as that in terrestrial MORB basalts, that widespread OH/H2O exists as a thin layer across the surface of the Moon, and that buried forms (of ice?) occur in spotty concentrations near the poles. There are hints of whiffs of water in the lunar exosphere. Are any of these materials related, and if so how? How common are the processes responsible for the lunar occurrences in other parts of the solar system? The whence, whither, and wherefore as applied to lunar water issues are complex and involve team efforts to resolve.
Bussey Ben
Elphic Richard C.
McCord Th. B.
Pieters Carlé M.
Saal Alberto E.
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