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The scientific view of the abundance of water on the Moon has varied
wildly with time, including drastic changes in perception in the last
decade. The Apollo samples left the lunar science community with the
impression that the Moon was completely dry, in large part because no
minerals were found that incorporated water or hydroxyl (OH) in their
structures. However, in 2008 two key measurements proved water was
much more abundant than perceived. High precision measurements of
hydrogen in lunar volcanic glasses showed clear evidence of either
water or hydroxyl at the 10's of parts per million level, and three
spacecraft detected a 3 micron water or hydroxyl band on the lunar
surface.
At present there are three loosely related areas of research on lunar water: Water in the lunar interior; water on the lunar surface; and water cold trapped in extremely low temperature surfaces in the lunar polar regions. I will describe these subject areas and related controversies, but emphasize how surface water is detected, and how Earth-based astronomy can and is contributing to the understanding of the origin and evolution of water on the Moon. |