Water Found in Moon Rock

Discovery stuns lunar experts
By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 10, 2008 5:00 AM CDT
Water Found in Moon Rock
Earth rising above the surface of the Moon. Trace water found in volcanic moon rock is making scientists rethink much of what we know about the Moon.   (AP Photo/NASA)

Water has been detected in moon rock brought to Earth by Apollo astronauts, reports Space.com. A team used a new super-sensitive technique to discover the water in volcanic glass beads in the rock. The stunning find, detailed in the journal Nature, is forcing scientists to rethink theories about the moon's origin 4.5 billion years ago.

Scientists have long believed that the moon formed from molten space pieces that resulted when a planet crashed into Earth. They theorized that any water would have turned to vapor and dissipated into space. "This really appears to have changed the rules of the game," said a researcher. (More moon stories.)

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