NASA: Moon could be a chemical factory for water
By: Team Ifairer | Posted: 21-02-2019
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"The whole process is like a chemical factory," said William M. Farrell, a plasma physicist at Goddard, adding that "every exposed body of silica in space - from the Moon down to a small dust grain - has the potential to create hydroxyl and thus become a chemical factory for water".
Tucker's simulation shows that as solar wind continually blasts the Moon's surface, it breaks the bonds among atoms of silicon, iron and oxygen that make up the majority of the Moon's soil. This leaves oxygen atoms with unsatisfied bonds.
As hydrogen atoms flow through the Moon's surface, they get temporarily trapped with the unhinged oxygen (longer in cold regions than in warm). They float from O to O before finally diffusing into the Moon's atmosphere and ultimately, into space.
source: business-standard.com