In the new study , researchers located grains of the mineral apatite in thin sections from the moon rocks and meteorite .
在最新的一项研究中，研究人员在月岩和月陨薄碎片中找到了磷灰石的矿物颗粒。
From these measurements , the scientists inferred the amount of water in the apatite 's source magma , which allowed them to extrapolate the result to estimate the total amount of water that is present on the moon .
从这些结果当中，科学家们可以从磷灰石的岩浆中推算水含量，并进一步估算月球上现存的水含量。
Earlier in 2010 , a us-led team led by francis mccubbin looked at the mineral apatite in lunar samples and discovered that there was at least 100 times more water in the moon 's minerals than previously believed .
They used a technique called secondary ion mass spectrometry ( sims ) , which allowed them to analyze the grains for a compound known as hydroxyl , which can be incorporated into apatite 's chemical structure if the mineral crystallizes from magma that contains water .
