Lunar ice may be of recent origin

Boston: Some ice deposits found on the moon’s south pole may be much more recent than previous estimates that they are all billions of years old, according to a study that may boost the already growing interest in exploring this part of the lunar surface. Researchers noted that counting the number of smaller craters formed inside the larger ones helped the scientists date the craters.

■ Some ice deposits found on the Moon’s south pole may be much more recent than previous estimates

■ Researchers said that the ice found in the recent craters may also have different sources.

■ The older ice could have originated from water-bearing comets, asteroids impacting the surface.

Boston, Oct. 13: Some ice deposits found on the moon’s south pole may be much more recent than previous estimates that they are all billions of years old, according to a study that may boost the already growing interest in exploring this part of the lunar surface.

Researchers, including those from Brown University in the US, observed the data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter — which has been orbiting the moon since 2009 — and noted the ages of large craters in which evidence for south pole ice deposits was found.

The study, published in the journal Icarus, noted that counting the number of smaller craters formed inside the larger ones helped the scientists date the craters.

Since, the researchers had an approximate idea of the pace of asteroid and comet impacts over time, counting the smaller inner craters helped them establish the ages of the terrains.

Majority of the reported ice deposits were found within large craters formed more than 3.1 billion years ago. The researchers found evidence for frozen water in smaller craters which they said seemed quite freshly formed.