Water found on the moon, scientists say

BEIJING, September 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Data received from the Indian Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft has indicated there is water on the moon. In addition scientists say water may still being formed on its surface.

The findings were made as researchers examined data from three separate missions to the moon.Dr Mylswamy Annadurai, the mission’s project director at the Indian Space Research Organisation in Bangalore, said the discovery was "very satisfying" as it was one of the main objectives of the mission.

The unmanned craft was equipped with NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper. It was designed specifically to search for water by looking for electromagnetic radiation emitted by minerals using the M3, an imaging spectrometer. The M3 was on of 2 NASA instruments amongst 11 others on board Chandrayaan-1, which was launched into orbit around the Moon in October 2008.

Carle Pieters of Brown University in Rhode Island and colleagues reviewed data from Chandrayaan-1 and found spectrographic evidence of water. "When we say 'water on the moon,' we are not talking about lakes, oceans or even puddles. Water on the moon means molecules of water and hydroxyl (hydrogen and oxygen) that interact with molecules of rock and dust specifically in the top millimetres of the moon's surface," Pieters said in a statement.

The full details of the report, which scientists say are a significant breakthrough and changes the face of lunar exploration, will be published in the journal Science on Friday.