New information suggests to researchers that the moon's interior may contain even more water than that of all the Great Lakes—after believing for forty years that the moon was completely dry. However, when they say water, the scientists mean hydroxyl, a compound which consists of one oxygen atom and one hydrogen atom, bound to a mineral called apatite. We were unable to find the water until now because it is in such low concentrations, locked away within minerals like apatite.
By analyzing rock samples collected from the Apollo missions, it has now been figured that the moon's water content is between 64 parts per billion and 5 parts per million—or a hundred times more water than previously thought. Supposedly, if the water were in liquid form, and not locked away within moon minerals, the water would cover the surface of the moon in a sea about one meter thick.
Perhaps these new findings could help support the theory of the moon's origins: some large object impacted the earth shortly after the formation of our solar system. The debris from the impact coalesced and to form the moon.
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