Moon crash ‘could find water’

Crashing a rocket into the moon will create “one more dimple” on the lunar surface and could find frozen water on earth’s nearest neighbour, according to an expert.

Vincent Eke’s research has helped inform Nasa’s decision about where to crash its probes into the moon’s surface in search of water.

The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite and its Centaur rocket will smash into a crater in the Cabeus region of the moon’s south pole next week.

Impact has been timed for about 12.30 p.m. on Friday.

Approximately 350 tonnes of material will be propelled into the sunlight so scientists can study its composition using ground-based telescopes.

Cabeus was identified in a previous study led by Dr Eke as a site with high concentrations of hydrogen – a key element in water.

According to the findings, water in the form of ice could be found in the frozen confines of the moon’s polar craters where temperatures are colder than -170°C.

Last month data from three spacecraft, including India’s Chandrayaan-1 probe, showed small amounts of H2O coated particles that make up the Moon’s soil.

Dr Eke, of Durham University’s Institute for Computational Cosmology, said: “Water ice could be stable for billions of years on the moon provided that it is cold enough.

“If ice is present in the permanently shaded lunar craters of the moon then it could potentially provide a water source for the eventual establishment of a manned base on the moon. Such a base could be used as a ­platform for exploration into the further reaches of our solar ­system.”