Water Has Been Discovered on the Moon.
What does This Mean to the Space Program?
My dad came home overflowing with excitement. The moment my mom and I heard the door slam, he exclaimed "Honey, we're moving to the moon!" Of course we thought it was a joke at first, even though my dad was a professionally trained NASA astronaut. He explained the situation to my mother and I over dinner.
It turns out all of the "water on the moon" rumors had recently been confirmed. He told us that although the exact amount of water on the moon is yet to be verified, it is a significant amount. Dad also mentioned that the oxygen and hydrogen found in the water could be used to produce rocket fuel, and even breathing air for anyone who may reside there in the near future. It would also provide drinking water for its inhabitants.
"How did the water get there in the first place?" I asked. "Well, Oliver, the water is believed to come from a number of different sources," dad explained. "You see, Lunar'soil' is a mixture of dust grains that soak up the protons in the solar wind," he continued. "When the solar protons are trapped between the dust grains and absorbed, they react with the oxygen to create water. Asteroids and comets colliding with the moon can also form water, because asteroids have varying amounts of ice, and comets contain up to 50 percent of the water in volume. It is also likely that small amounts of ice carried by intergalactic clouds were deposited on the moon," Dad finished. "Oh," I peeped, dumbfounded by all the science talk.
"How are we supposed to get there, I thought the space shuttles were retiring this year?" Mom wanted to know. "Yes, but they are being replaced by new spacecraft that are launched from large rockets," Dad said. I began to imagine looking out the window of a spaceship, staring wide eyed as the Earth started to shrink, and then eventually stepping out onto the rocky surface of the moon my new home for the first time, taking a whiff of ...well, I wonder what the moon smells like...
"Oliver, eat your peas!" My mother exclaimed. "Oh, sorry, just daydreaming... Hey dad, who else will be living at the moon colony?" I suddenly wondered. "Good question. At first, scientists, astronauts, explorers, food providers, and maybe even teachers! That's the most exciting thing about the discovery of water on the moon: Now not only astronauts will be able to travel there, but many more people! Everything we learn colonizing the moon can help us to colonize Mars someday as well... and who knows where after that?"