Classroom Space
Water on the Moon?
How Much Water is on the Moon?
Illustration of the Lunar Prospector spacecraft
in orbit around the Moon.
In 1998 NASA announced that the Lunar Prospector had discovered ‘significant
quantities’ of water ice deposits in the north and south polar regions of the Moon.
Part of that NASA announcement is shown below:
“Lunar Prospector scientists said up to 300 million metric tonnes of water ice,
and perhaps even more, may exist on the Moon, mixed into the lunar soil. If
melted, this ice would create up to 65.4 billion gallons of water”.
When this announcement was made, the American scientists were working with their own
weights and measures system i.e. American gallons, instead of metric units, which would use
litres.
If one American gallon = 3.79 litres, work out how many litres of water scientists think exists
on the Moon (remember 1 billion = 109):
Water on the Moon - Student Activity
1
Classroom Space
Water on the Moon?
How many litres of water would one tonne of ice produce?
NASA scientists estimate that even if there is only 30 million tonnes of ice on
the Moon, when it is converted to liquid, it would support 2000 people living
there for 100 years without recycling.
Using your answer to the first question, work out how much water the scientists think that a
person would use on the Moon per day (Note: a year has exactly 365.25 days in it – which is
why we have a leap year every four years to make up for the extra day!).
Does this sound like a lot of water for one person to use in a day?
Try to work out how much water you use each day using the values below:
•
•
•
•
•
Washing hands and face uses 9 litres of water
Brushing teeth uses 1 litre of water (6 litres if you leave the tap running!)
Having a bath uses 90 litres of water
Having a shower uses 35 litres of water
Flushing the toilet uses 8 litres of water
Don’t forget about water for drinking, cooking and anything else you might think of!
Water on the Moon - Student Activity
2
Classroom Space
Water on the Moon?
If you were living on the Moon, do you think that you would use water in the same way as you
might on the Earth? Explain your reasons.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
What do you think scientists mean by recycling water on the Moon?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
70% of our Earth is covered in water. Lunar prospector detected water ice over about 45,000
km2 of the north and south poles of the Moon. The surface area of the Moon is 37,932328 km2,
what percentage of the Moon’s surface is covered in water?
All the water on the Moon is frozen into the lunar surface. Water on our Earth exists in many
different ways: 97% is salt water in our oceans and seas; 2% is fresh water frozen into ice
caps and glaciers; 0.6% is groundwater (fresh water found underground); and 0.4% is
freshwater in rivers and lakes.
Draw a pie chart or histogram to represent the different types of water on the Earth.
Water on the Moon - Student Activity
3