Water on the Moon

NASA has confirmed the presence of water on the moon’s sunlit surface, a breakthrough 【小题1】 (suggest) the chemical compound that is vital to life on Earth could be distributed across more parts of the lunar surface than the ice that 【小题2】 (find) previously in dark and cold areas.

“We don’t know yet if we can use it as a resource,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said, but he added that learning more about the water is still crucial.

The discovery comes from the space agency’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA — a 【小题3】 (modify) Boeing 747 that 【小题4】 take telescope high into Earth’s atmosphere, 【小题5】 researchers may peer at objects in space with hardly any visual disturbance from water vapor. To detect the molecules, SOFIA also used a special camera to distinguish between water’s specific wavelength of 6.1 microns and that of its close chemical relative hydroxyl, or OH.

The data confirm 【小题6】 experts have suspected, that water might exist on the moon’s sunny surface, though the form of it shall be 【小题7】 (obvious) to detect. Experts will now try to figure out exactly how the water came to form and why it persists.

“Data from this location reveal water in concentration of 100 to 412 parts per million trapped 【小题8】 a cubic meter of soil.” NASA said in a release about the discovery.

“【小题9】 without a thick atmosphere, water on the sunlit lunar surface should just be lost to space,” said Casey Honniball, the lead author of a study about the discovery. “Somehow we’re actually seeing it.”

There are several possible explanations for the water’s presence, including an interesting yet reasonable【小题10】 claiming its origin to the stony micro objects from space. Small balls of glass from that process could trap water, according to the researchers’ paper.

The world is in a climate crisis. We need to change how we get our power, which 【小题1】 (mean) we need to end the use of fossil fuels, like oil and gas. The European Space Agency (ESA) has started on work that could provide 【小题2】 (million) of homes with clean and reliable energy. It has approved 【小题3】 three-year project to test huge solar farms in space. These solar farms are expected 【小题4】 (send) energy wirelessly from space into peopled homes. An ESA spokesperson said one solar-farm satellite could create the same amount of electricity 【小题5】 a power station on Earth. She added that the satellites will be around 1.7 km in 【小题6】 (long) and their aim is to have many of these giant satellites 【小题7】 (place) in low-Earth orbits. They could cut our use of fossil fuels and reduce energy shortages.

The ESA project 【小题8】 (call) Solaris. Josef Aschbacher, 【小题9】 is currently the director-general of the ESA, said that Solaris could be of great significance. “We humans are consuming large quantities of fossil fuels. We need to change the way we produce energy. We especially need to reduce the fossil fuel part of our energy production,” said Josef. “It would be 【小题10】 (absolute) fantastic if we could do it from space. It would be a solution to lots of problems.”

A small device, Moxie, has produced oxygen on the surface of Mars,【小题1】 (bring) the chances of surviving on the red planet a step closer. Research published in 【小题2】 journal Science Advances reported that Moxie produced breathable oxygen in seven-hour-long tests conducted in various weather and atmospheric conditions last year. The research also found that even in   【小题3】(extreme) harsh weather conditions like a Martian dust storm, Moxie 【小题4】(continue) to produce high purity oxygen.

“This is the first demonstration of actually using 【小题5】(resource) on the surface of Mars and transforming them chemically into something useful for a human mission,” Jeffrey Hoffman, a retired astronaut, said.

“The thin atmosphere on Mars is 96 percent carbon dioxide and much more 【小题6】(change)than on Earth and the temperature can vary by 100 degrees, ” Hoffman said. “One aim is 【小题7】(show) we can run Moxie in all seasons.”

The device, Moxie, uses some special pumps, 【小题8】 take in carbon dioxide. The gas 【小题9】(heat) to 800°C and pressed to separate the carbon and oxygen. Carbon monoxide is sent out as waste while the pure oxygen is left behind.

Despite the challenges, Moxie has proved durable in the extreme conditions on Mars and scientists regard the test results 【小题10】 a great achievement.