Carbonaceous chondrite impact responsible for lunar water

A Chinese research team has found that a meteorite hit the moon about one million years ago through data sent by the Chang'e-4 probe, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

The impact event is believed to be related with carbonaceous chondrites, a water-rich class of asteroids, according to Liu Yang with the National Space Science Center (NSSC) under the CAS, corresponding author of the study, in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

Once a carbonaceous chondrite hit the moon, some of the water it carried may be retained on the moon, according to Liu.

Previous study has shown that impacts are one of the main contributors to water on the moon, along with volcanic eruptions and solar wind.

The research team estimated that the impact event happened within one million years, a short time compared to the moon's geological time scale since its formation, which means the impact is equivalent to what happened just a few minutes ago in a person's lifetime.

They thus concluded that carbonaceous chondrite impacts are still providing water to the moon.

The study was published in the journal, Nature Astronomy.