SEMINAR 2025

Water, Organics, and Survivability on the Moon

SpeakerYeo Li Hsia, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the University of Maryland, USA
Date/TimeWednesday, 6 Aug, 3pm
LocationS11-02-07
HostA/Prof Phil Chan Aik Hui

Abstract

At first glance, the Moon is dry, airless, and flooded with radiation – inhospitable to life as we know it. Yet, despite the odds, a small amount of water and prebiotic molecules like amines and amino acids have been discovered on the Moon.

In this talk, I introduce the mission-based observations and returned sample measurements that led to these discoveries. I will also share the latest research on the survivability of organic molecules and the life cycle of water/hydration on the lunar surface. Finally, I will discuss their implications for the future of human exploration to the Moon.

Artist rendering of the LCROSS satellite. NASA/JPL

Biography

Dr. Yeo Li Hsia is a planetary scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the University of Maryland at College Park. She received her PhD in Physics from the University of Colorado, Boulder and her BSc in Physics from the National University of Singapore. She performs laboratory experiments to understand the lunar environment with an eye towards human exploration. Her research focuses on the interaction between solar wind plasma, radiation, dust, and volatiles on the Moon.