This might look like any other run-of-the-mill meteorite, but it’s not. That’s because it originated on the Moon and while we have plenty of samples of moon rocks that researchers have been pouring over since the 70’s, this one is different as it contains a mineral called appetite.
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00:00this might look like any other run-of-the-mill meteorite but it's not this one originated on
00:08the moon but we have plenty of samples of moon rocks that researchers have been pouring over
00:12since the 70s this one is different scientists now say this meteorite suggests that not only did
00:17the moon have more water at some point than we thought it might actually have been covered in
00:21great oceans they say that around four billion years ago the lunar surface was much richer in
00:25volatile minerals including appetite a phosphate this is the first time that mineral has been
00:30found in a rock coming from the moon with the researcher who discovered it tara hayden saying
00:35about the find quote we find the moon's early crust was richer in water than we expected and its
00:39volatile stable isotopes reveal an even more complex history than we knew before so what does this mean
00:45for lunar research well first it means we can't make sweeping generalizations about the moon's
00:49surface based solely on apollo mission material after all you wouldn't expect the same rock and
00:54water content to be found around our own planet however this also means it's much more likely with
00:58more exploration we might find a significant water source on the moon perhaps hiding in a crater
01:03away from the sun's extreme heat