Emily Chan
The force of the impact heats up silicate materials to molten temperatures and combines to produce tiny glass beads scattered across the landscape. Glass beads can also form after a volcanic eruption.
The new research also suggested that the moon had already cooled off past the point of volcanic activity. Hopefully, it inspires more studies to figure out how such a phenomenon could have happened.
Aside from providing clues about past volcanic activity, the glass beads could also serve as water sources for agencies that want to build bases on the moon in the future.
They are so abundant across the lunar surface that they can store up to 330 billion tons of water.
Some of the beads release water at the right temperatures and act as a reservoir that refills slowly over time. Overall, the glass beads help inform both our past and our future.
The study was published in the journal Science.
