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back to article Scientists change their minds, think water may be all over the Moon

Boffins at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center have announced that water on the Moon may be actually be more widespread over the surface than first thought, and less prone to moving about. The process for actually extracting this water remains unclear and will need to be resolved before thirsty astronauts are to be refreshed …

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  1. Aladdin Sane

    DHMO

    is a major component of acid rain, and is also used as an industrial solvent. Do we really want astronauts to come into contact with this?

    20 2 Reply

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: DHMO

      Human body fluids are full of it, too. Disgusting stuff.

      9 1 Reply
  2. Matthew 17

    Did you know that giant steps are what you take

    walking on the moon?

    9 0 Reply
    1. Aladdin Sane
      Reply Icon

      Re: Did you know that giant steps are what you take

      I hope my legs don't break

      3 0 Reply

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

        1. The Oncoming Scorn Silver badge
          Reply Icon
          Facepalm

          Re: Did you know that giant steps are what you take

          Buzz Aldrin famously broke his urine collection bottle while out on the surface & "squelched" with every step.....

          Giant steps are what you take

          Walking on the moon

          I hope my urine bottle don't break

          Walking on the moon

          2 0 Reply
        2. JassMan
          Reply Icon
          Trollface

          Re: Did you know that giant steps are what you take

          Pedant alert!

          The police were the band and Sting was the lead singer. I don't believe that going single has given him multiple personality disorder. Even if it has, it would be a miracle that he could be seen playing all the instruments himself totally live simultaneously. Yes I know that some people thought he was christ re-risen (possibly Sting himself) but a more likely solution is that he employs session musicians.

          Extra bit of pedantry!!

          re: the ps. cough in english is generally pronounced coff and Nabokov being a Russian or Eastern European name would be pronounced nabocoff, which sounds like a reasonable rhyme to me.

          6 0 Reply

          1. This post has been deleted by its author

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Reply Icon
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Did you know that giant steps are what you take

              Nah, you're all need to be more careful about Moon songs...

              http://www.peteatkin.com/a15.htm

              0 0 Reply
      2. mosw
        Reply Icon

        Re: Did you know that giant steps are what you take

        "I hope my legs don't break"

        Now that would Sting.

        1 0 Reply
  3. Zog_but_not_the_first
    Facepalm

    Well duh!

    S'obvious innit? Sea of Tranquillity and all that.

    12 0 Reply
  4. DropBear

    So, basically, we have no friggin' clue what form that water exactly takes because the boffins have none either, or is it simply due to El Reg failing to say anything about that...?

    0 0 Reply
  5. Arctic fox
    Headmaster

    Re: "The results point towards OH and H2O......."

    Hmm... What form of "OH" are we talking about here? In ionic form with a negative charge? Or are we talking about OH as a functional group on a molecule as in, for example, alcohols?* The idea that our dear moon may be as soaked in booze (thanks to solar radiation) as the average Christmas pudding is very appealing. :)

    *Yes, I am a chemist. It's not my fault, all I wanted was a nice easy indoor job with no heavy lifting (thank you Sir Terry) and this is what I ended up doing.

    7 0 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "The results point towards OH and H2O......."

      OH radicals make up the bulk of detected water signals around the moon.

      3 0 Reply
      1. kventin
        Reply Icon

        Re: "The results point towards OH and H2O......."

        radicals. always the loudest.

        3 0 Reply
      2. VikiAi
        Reply Icon
        Boffin

        Re: "The results point towards OH and H2O......."

        OH as in 'OH!, there is water there after all!"

        0 0 Reply
    2. Aladdin Sane
      Reply Icon

      Re: all I wanted was

      I didn't want to work in an office, I wanted to be a lumberjack!

      11 0 Reply
  6. BebopWeBop

    Soup Dragons can feed hungry Clangers.

    At least one already is. I've seen the pictures!

    1 0 Reply
    1. The Oncoming Scorn Silver badge
      Reply Icon
      Alien

      Soupy Soupy Doo

      I always imagined it was hungry Clangers that fed the Soup Dragon

      0 0 Reply
  7. Kaltern

    Moon is hollow, massive ocean discovered beneath surface.

    Although, can you imagine the tidal effect from the Earth?

    0 1 Reply
  8. RareToy

    **Iron Sky movie flashback**

    But what about all the Helium 3 and Nazi's on the moon? ;) hahaha j/k

    0 0 Reply
    1. Aladdin Sane
      Reply Icon
      Headmaster

      Nazi's what on the moon?

      2 0 Reply
  9. DerekCurrie
    Facepalm

    I vote this is bad science

    Maybe buried underground where the sun and vacuum of space can't get at it. H2O in any form anywhere on the surface of the moon? No.

    0 0 Reply
    1. John H Woods Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: I vote this is bad science

      Maybe you'd like to read the article and say what you think is wrong with the science.

      0 0 Reply
  10. drewsup

    get thee some bottles

    And a rocket, Moon Water!!! I smell profit!

    0 0 Reply
  11. Beachrider

    Rehash of the Hydroxyl stuff from 10 years ago...

    The "hydroxyl radicals/ions" found are a different thing than actually finding water. They don't have to be water at all. The current belief is that they are 'radicals' and NOT ions, on Luna. There also is no evidence (yet) of free Hydrogen on Luna. That means that these Hydroxyls are NOT doing what they do on Earth (i.e. bond to Carbon, Nitrogen and/or Oxygen to generate free-Hydrogen). IF you find peroxide, THAT would be very interesting, though.

    0 0 Reply

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