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[00:00.41] A new study suggests sources of water on the moon are more widespread than previously thought.

[00:11.82] The study was based on new examinations of data collected by India’s Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft.

[00:20.85] It launched in October 2008 and collected data while orbiting the moon for about a year.

[00:29.89] Chandrayaan-1 has already provided evidence of water on the moon.

[00:36.53] In September 2009, scientists published a study based on data from the Indian space mission.

[00:46.09] The data showed the presence of molecules linked to water, as well as the substance hydroxyl.

[00:55.65] The American space agency NASA describes hydroxyl (OH) as “a molecule made up of one hydrogen atom and one oxygen atom with a free (unpaired) electron.”

[01:12.93] It notes it is “one of the most reactive gases in the atmosphere” and can help break down other gases in the air.

[01:24.08] The 2009 study suggested the water molecules identified by Chandrayaan-1 data were mainly found in the moon’s extreme northern and southern areas, known as the poles.

[01:41.60] Scientists said the data from that study showed most of the water probably existed in large craters near the poles where sunlight is blocked.

[01:56.49] But new examinations of the data show that water and hydroxyl molecules likely exist over much wider areas of the moon.

[02:07.90] In addition, the research suggests water is even present in areas of the moon receiving direct sunlight.

[02:19.07] The instrument aboard Chandrayaan-1 that captured the molecule data is called the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3).

[02:31.55] NASA built and operated the instrument.

[02:34.73] The space agency describes M3 as an “imaging spectrometer.”

[02:41.64] A spectrometer is an instrument used to study the chemical composition and structures of substances.

[02:51.47] On the Chandrayaan-1 mission, the spectrometer aimed to map the mineral composition of materials on the moon’s surface.

[03:02.09] Researchers examined this data and centered their search on areas outside the lunar poles.