Potential Water Reservoir Discovered – Can we finally think about Colonizing the Moon?
![](https://admediaryllc.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/manuel-araujo-1375409-unsplash-960x640.jpg)
The recent advances in technology and frequent discoveries on a daily basis have surprised many people around the world. Scientists have yet again discovered something out of the ordinary. The ‘Journal of Geophysical Research’ has published an article to shed light on how the Earth’s atmosphere might extend further than previously known. The approximate distance now is 390,000 miles.
The new discovery therefore adds a new aspect at looking at the moon. The debate of whether or not the moon has water has been spreading like wildfire. Scientists have indeed discovered that our only satellite may have the potential to harbor life on its surface. With the atmosphere and the water in place, human beings have little more to do before they can cultivate food there.
On a recent study, lead author Igor Baliukin from the Russian Space Research Institute commented how nobody knew that the moon actually passing by Earth’s outer atmosphere ring. They recently found this to be true after uncovering previous research that was thought to be lost.
How Does this work?
The data now reveals that the Earth’s exosphere is actually much denser. There is an average of 70 hydrogen atoms per cubic centimeter over 37,000 miles away from Earth. The study also found out that the density only fell to 1 atom per cubic centimeter as they went along. Even though there is low density further on, the hydrogen atoms kept interacting with the UV rays of the sun. The emission therefore allowed the opportunity to study geocorona which is a new phenomenon that experts are researching.
This phenomenon can lead to water vapor around the moon’s surface. The presence of hydrogen atoms mixed with UV light also poses zero threat to future astronauts on the planet. Instead, the new findings are proof that humankind can traverse off to newer planets in the hopes of colonizing them.
We haven’t yet reached the ability to terraform the atmosphere and make the moon more habitable for humans to exist. It may take us several years before we can utilize this phenomenon to not only live on the moon, but also other planets in the solar system. Having a water reservoir in the form of ice on the planet is news enough for us to wonder what other planets may possess the potential for terraforming and subsequent colonization.
Now scientists will try to observe whether a geocorona is present in the surface of other planets like Venus and Mars. The potential of growing plants and therefore oxygen on the planet can restart the planet’s ecosystem. Both planets have been deemed to have had some form of ecosystem once that over millions of years got destroyed.
Whether we can colonize the moon in the next 10 years or not is surely a question in need of answering. As of now, all we can do is wait and watch.