An international team of researchers has used the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to measure the temperature of the rocky exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 b. The measurement is based on the planet's thermal emission: heat energy given off in the form of infrared light detected by Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI).

The result indicates that the planet's dayside has a temperature of about 500 Kelvin (roughly 230°C), and suggests that it has no significant atmosphere. This is the first detection of any form of light emitted by an exoplanet as small and as cool as the rocky planets in our own solar system.

Lunar surface water has attracted much attention due to its potential for in-situ resource utilization by future lunar exploration missions and other space missions

Now, a research group led by Prof. Hu Sen from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics (IGG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has found that impact glass beads in Chang'e-5 (CE5) lunar soils contain some water.

Detailed studies show that these glass beads are likely a new water reservoir on the moon, recording the dynamic ingress and egress of solar wind-derived water and acting as a buffer for the lunar surface water cycle.

This work was published in Nature Geoscience on March 27.

Many lunar missions have confirmed the presence of structural water or water ice on the moon. There is little doubt that most of the moon's surface harbors water, though the amount is much less than on Earth.