The Moon's water: past, current, and future perspectives

Catch-up on the most recent Institute of Physics lecture by Dr Jessica Barnes from The University of Arizona. Dr Barnes joined us as part of our Moon Night 2020 celebrations, that took place as online events over three nights during 7-9th of December.

Lunar samples are a touchstone to understanding how our nearest neighbor formed and evolved. Advancements in laboratory instrumentation and techniques are providing new and more precise data on lunar materials that are challenging the Apollo-era paradigm of a ‘bone-dry Moon’. In preparation for future lunar missions anticipated in the 2020s and beyond NASA’s Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis (ANGSA) program aims to use cutting-edge analytical techniques to investigate special, never-before-studied Apollo samples. I will discuss the discovery of lunar water and its implications, and how the ANGSA program can help address unanswered questions about the Moon.

This event took place on 8th December 2020 at 7:30pm (19:30 GMT).