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Unable to distinguish between hydroxyl radicals from water ice and hydroxyl groups from methanol using lunar spectral detection --- A problem of sufficient urgency and significance
  • Tianxi Sun
Tianxi Sun
Suzhou Ecological Environment Bureau, Suzhou 215002, China; Original: East China Hydroelectric Investigation and Design Institute.

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Abstract

The absorption strength of hydroxyl radicals and hydroxyl groups are all 2.9μm, so it is easy to confuse hydroxyl radicals and hydroxyl groups when interpreting M3 spectra data. I do not doubt the ability of LCROSS to detect OH from water, but only suspect that LCROSS is unable to distinguish between hydroxyl radicals from water ice and hydroxyl groups from methanol because it ignores their spectral identity. Hydroxyl radicals and hydroxyl groups are two different concepts: hydroxyl radicals belong to the ion, whereas hydroxyl groups are the type of functional groups in organic matter. We have reason to suspect hydroxyl radicals that LCROSS claimed to discover on the Moon might actually be hydroxyl groups from Moon’s methanol. It seems that all our misconceptions about water ice in lunar polar craters might be due to the neglect of the chemical role of lunar methanol. It is necessary to conduct in-depth research in this field in the future.