Earth’s supply of water is incredibly important for its ability to sustain life, but where did that water come from? Was it present when Earth formed or was it delivered later by meteorites or comets from outer space? The source of Earth’s water has been a longstanding debate and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists think they have the answer—and they found it by looking at rocks from the moon. Evidence from the analysis of lunar samples suggest that although the Earth and moon formed from a giant impact, they mostly retained their primordial abundances of volatile elements including water. Image by Adam Connell/LLNL. Since the Earth-moon system formed together from the impact of two large bodies very early in solar system history, their histories are very muc...
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