Study on the Possible Existence of Water on the Moon

Aim of an extensive research project is an analysis of surface properties of Moon's regolith covering and the assessment of the possible existence of usable water on the Moon. In the present paper a short historical survey on Moon's exploration and recent and planned missions is given. Recent recognitions are discussed on the basis of origin and history of the Moon and the import of water from other celestial bodies. Characteristic data and chemical composition of the Moon's surface are summarised with respect to possible water or ice preservation.

Experimental investigations have been made on three typical lunar regolith powder samples from the Apollo 11, 12 and 16 missions. The experiments include spectroscopic and thermal analysis, density measurements and sorptometry. In the present paper we give a survey on measuring methods applied and discuss some results. The measurements confirm results of investigations made with less sensitive equipment shortly after the missions. With regard to water occurrence we found that the regolith cover of the Moon surface is rather hydrophobic and can hardly store water as adsorbed layers.