A joint research team led by Profs. Lin Yangting and Lin Honglei from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGGCAS) observed water signals in reflectance spectral data from the lunar surface acquired by the Chang'E-5 lander, providing the first evidence of in-situ detection of water on the Moon.

The study was published in Science Advances on Jan. 7.

Researchers from the National Space Science Center of CAS, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, the Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics of CAS and Nanjing University were also involved in the study.

Many orbital observations and sample measurements completed over the past decade have presented evidence for the presence of water (as hydroxyl and/or H₂O) on the moon. However, no in-situ measurements have ever been conducted on the lunar surface.

The Chang'E-5 spacecraft landed on one of the youngest mare basalts, located at a mid-high latitude on the Moon, and returned 1,731 g of samples.

Commercial spaceflight companies such as Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin are now offering exclusive opportunities for celebrities and civilians to travel to space.

Traditionally, astronauts have been subject to rigorous training and medical scrutiny before going to space, and the risk of death from natural causes was considered remote.

But in this new era of space tourism, it appears medical screening may not be carried out, and only minimal pre-flight training provided.

With a wide variety of people now going to space, and the prospect in the coming years of humans establishing bases on the Moon and beyond, it raises an important question: what happens if someone dies in space?

Under international space law, individual countries are responsible for authorizing and supervising all national space activity, whether governmental or private. In the United States, commercial tourist spaceflights require a license for launch to be issued by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Should someone die on a commercial tourist mission, there would need to be a determination as to the cause of death.

Back in early December 2021, China's Yutu 2 rover made headlines when it spied what looked like a curious cube-shaped object on the moon's surface. Of course, speculations ran rampant. And it didn't help matters any when the China National Space Administration (CNSA) nicknamed the object the "mystery hut."

An update today from Yutu's cameras reveals the true nature of this object. Yup, it's just a rock. And not very cube-shaped, either.

Several planetary geologists and astronomers had logically predicted the object was likely a just bright colored, blocky boulder sitting on the edge of a crater rim. Orbital images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter didn't show anything out of the ordinary—rocks and more rocks on a cratered lunar surface.