New Delhi, India

Scientists have said that a Chinese lunar probe found traces of water in samples of the Moon's soil. The Chang'e-5 rover completed its mission in 2020, returning to Earth with rock and soil samples from the Moon. 

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A group of scientists from Chinese universities wrote in the Nature Astronomy journal that the lunar samples "revealed the presence of trace water". 

India's Chandrayaan-1 played a crucial role in the discovery of water molecules on the Moon. The mission carried NASA's Moon Minerology Mapper (M3), an imaging spectrometer that helped confirm the discovery of water locked in minerals on the Moon. 

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In 2020, water on the Moon was already confirmed by a NASA infrared detector and recent examinations of materials from the 1960s and 1970s have shown water traces. 

According to the Chinese scientists, the Chang'e-5 samples are from a "much higher latitude", providing new clues as to what form water takes on the Moon's surface. 

They said that the samples suggest that "water molecules can persist in sunlit areas of the Moon in the form of hydrated salts". 

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As reported by SCMP, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) on Tuesday said that Chinese scientists have found a hydrated mineral "enriched" with molecular water based on lunar soil samples returned by China's Chang'e-5 mission in 2020. 

Researchers from the Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, the Institute of Physics of CAS and other domestic research institutions jointly carried out the research, which was published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Astronomy on July 16. 

Researchers have also eliminated the chance that the mineral-carrying water was tainted by rocket exhaust or other terrestrial sources. 

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As quoted by SCMP, a scientist who asked not to be named said, "If this water-bearing mineral is present in the lunar samples, more than one piece should be found." The scientist was not associated with the study. 

The researchers said that the presence of ammonium indicates a more complex lunar degassing history and highlights its potential as a resource for lunar habitation.

"Our findings also suggest that water molecules can persist in sunlit areas of the Moon as hydrated salts, providing crucial constraints on the fugacity of water and ammonia vapour in lunar volcanic gases," researchers said. 

(With inputs from agencies)