# How is the chemical composition of water on other planets different from our own? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 12, 2014, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-chemical-composition-of-water-on-other-planets-different-from-our-own/690614 "2014-06-12T10:05:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![scienceguy151](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7c8e57/32.png) [@scienceguy151](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scienceguy151)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-chemical-composition-of-water-on-other-planets-different-from-our-own/690614/21 "2014-06-12T15:24:29Z")
I never really gave the matter much thought, but I was told to think of water not as H2O but as the equilibrium of H+ and OH-. From there we’d calculate pH with the Henderson hasselbalch equation yadda, yadda yadda. Would it be possible , in an extreme environment, to have oceans of pure H+ or OH- with no (or very few) other solutes? Would those still be considered water or something else? ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-chemical-composition-of-water-on-other-planets-different-from-our-own/690614/22 "2014-06-12T16:13:58Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Really? You reserve the word “water” for pure H2O? You have never ordered a glass of “water” in a restaurant, or bought a bottle of “water” from a convenience store, or filled your home sink or bathtub with “water”? What do you call those liquids if not water? Yes, those liquids do differ from each other. But so do sea water and rain water, for example, but the OP explicitly used the phrase “water on other planets”, which leads the rest of us to believe that he considers both sea water and rain water to be “earth water”, and he’s asking how “water on other planets” is different. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-chemical-composition-of-water-on-other-planets-different-from-our-own/690614/23 "2014-06-12T16:38:23Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Some idiots encourage their children to play with it! :smack: Other idiots don’t let their kids get vaccinated for it. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-chemical-composition-of-water-on-other-planets-different-from-our-own/690614/24 "2014-06-12T16:42:38Z")
I understood the question immediately to mean something like “If we brought back water from another planet, or found some in an extraterrestrial object (like a meteor or crashed UFO), is there a chemical way that we would be able to distinguish it from terrestrial water?” The answer would be “Maybe”, depending on the chemicals identified as solutes or suspended particulate within the water sample, or deviant but similar molecules such as but not limited to H3O. Or unexpected presence of radioisotopes. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-chemical-composition-of-water-on-other-planets-different-from-our-own/690614/25 "2014-06-12T16:43:54Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Water is water…except when it’s dihydrogen monoxide. > Know the risks! > [@John\_Mace](#): > > Some companies even put that chemical in sugary drinks!! :eek: DHMO is also a major constituent of “acid rain”, it contributes to the corrosion and rusting of many metals, and it decreases the effectiveness of automobile brakes. Prolonged contact with its solid form can cause tissue damage. Accidental inhalation of DHMO is a common cause of death. ---
**Author:** ![davidmich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-chemical-composition-of-water-on-other-planets-different-from-our-own/690614/26 "2014-06-12T16:56:15Z")
yes jtur88. I’m interested on what differences if any we would find in interstellar water. Is moon water drinkable as is? Do scientist have a breakdown of lunar water? davidmich ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-chemical-composition-of-water-on-other-planets-different-from-our-own/690614/27 "2014-06-12T17:00:25Z")
> [@davidmich](#): > > yes jtur88. I’m interested on what differences if any we would find in interstellar water. Is moon water drinkable as is? Do scientist have a breakdown of lunar water? > davidmich Again, the chemical make up of water is H2O. Water on this planet isn’t simply just H2O either and the mineral, contaminant etc make up can vary depending on where you source it. If you’re asking what types of solutes extraterrestrial water might have dissolved in it, that’s a different (and an interesting) question than asking if water isn’t H2O on another planet. Here’s a Wikipedia article on Lunda Water ([Lunar water - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_water)). It doesn’t appear any hypothesized lunar water has ever been directly analyzed for it’s composition. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-chemical-composition-of-water-on-other-planets-different-from-our-own/690614/28 "2014-06-12T17:03:06Z")
> [@davidmich](#): > > yes jtur88. I’m interested on what differences if any we would find in interstellar water. Is moon water drinkable as is? Do scientist have a breakdown of lunar water? > davidmich I don’t believe any scientists have found any water on the moon. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-chemical-composition-of-water-on-other-planets-different-from-our-own/690614/29 "2014-06-12T17:06:43Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Even the parts that are OH- or H30+?[/nitpick] [nitpick]H30 would be some kind of wacky giant hydrogen molecule.[/nitpick] ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-chemical-composition-of-water-on-other-planets-different-from-our-own/690614/30 "2014-06-12T17:07:02Z")
> [@davidmich](#): > > Is moon water drinkable as is? The vast, vast majority of earth water isn’t drinkable as is. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-chemical-composition-of-water-on-other-planets-different-from-our-own/690614/31 "2014-06-12T17:23:39Z")
> [@davidmich](#): > > yes jtur88. I’m interested on what differences if any we would find in interstellar water. Is moon water drinkable as is? Do scientist have a breakdown of lunar water? > davidmich Opening your faceplate for a sip can lead to problems. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-chemical-composition-of-water-on-other-planets-different-from-our-own/690614/32 "2014-06-12T17:56:05Z")
I’m thinking that water is likely to be a mineral on the Moon. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-chemical-composition-of-water-on-other-planets-different-from-our-own/690614/33 "2014-06-12T17:59:44Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > I don’t believe any scientists have found any water on the moon. Not directly, but it is pretty widely accepted that there is ice on the moon, in permanently shaded parts near the poles. And there are hydroxyl groups bound to moon rocks. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-chemical-composition-of-water-on-other-planets-different-from-our-own/690614/34 "2014-06-12T18:28:22Z")
> [@davidmich](#): > > Is moon water drinkable as is? davidmich, I still don’t really understand your question. Please tell me what you think of this question: Is earth water drinkable as is? In the opinion of many governmental health agencies around the world, some earth water is drinkable as is, but other earth water is not. And based on that, it is reasonable to say that some of the water on other planets is drinkable, but other water of other planets is not. The tricky part is knowing which is which. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-chemical-composition-of-water-on-other-planets-different-from-our-own/690614/35 "2014-06-12T18:35:35Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > …water is likely to be a mineral… commonly known as “ice”. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-chemical-composition-of-water-on-other-planets-different-from-our-own/690614/36 "2014-06-12T18:46:01Z")
> [@davidmich](#): > > yes jtur88. I’m interested on what differences if any we would find in interstellar water. Is moon water drinkable as is? Do scientist have a breakdown of lunar water? > davidmich Then what you are really asking about is the impurities in this alien water, what it may be contaminated with, what solubles, salts, and minerals it may contain, etc. Because once you remove those impurities, water is water. The astronauts on the International Space Station drink nice pure water, that really just their own sweat and breath exhalations recycled, with the impurities removed. Or plain old water. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-chemical-composition-of-water-on-other-planets-different-from-our-own/690614/37 "2014-06-12T19:37:33Z")
> [@davidmich](#): > > yes jtur88. I’m interested on what differences if any we would find in interstellar water. Is moon water drinkable as is? Do scientist have a breakdown of lunar water? > davidmich There no such thing as “interstellar water”, “moon water”, “lunar water”, “martian water”, or “Uranus water”-There is _Water_, period. But I wouldn’t drink “Uranus water”, all the same. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-chemical-composition-of-water-on-other-planets-different-from-our-own/690614/38 "2014-06-12T19:46:43Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > There no such thing as “interstellar water”, “moon water”, “lunar water”, “martian water”, or “Uranus water”-There is _Water_, period. > > But I wouldn’t drink “Uranus water”, all the same. To the moon, Alice! To the moon! ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-chemical-composition-of-water-on-other-planets-different-from-our-own/690614/39 "2014-06-12T20:31:26Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > I understood the question immediately to mean something like “If we brought back water from another planet, or found some in an extraterrestrial object (like a meteor or crashed UFO), is there a chemical way that we would be able to distinguish it from terrestrial water?” The answer would be “Maybe”, depending on the chemicals identified as solutes or suspended particulate within the water sample, or deviant but similar molecules such as but not limited to H3O. Or unexpected presence of radioisotopes. If that’s the question, then yes - we’d probably be able to tell based just on the water molecules themselves viz. their oxygen isotope ratios or somesuch [voodoo](http://haroldconnolly.com/EES%20716%20Fall%2009%20Reading/Lecture%201/Background%20reading/1.06%20%20Oxygen%20Isotopes%20in%20Meteorites.pdf). ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-chemical-composition-of-water-on-other-planets-different-from-our-own/690614/40 "2014-06-12T21:07:49Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > If that’s the question, then yes - we’d probably be able to tell based just on the water molecules themselves viz. their oxygen isotope ratios or somesuch [voodoo](http://haroldconnolly.com/EES%20716%20Fall%2009%20Reading/Lecture%201/Background%20reading/1.06%20%20Oxygen%20Isotopes%20in%20Meteorites.pdf). This > [@davidmich](#): > > How is the chemical composition of water on other planets different from our own? I haven’t been able to find out anything on the chemical composition of water that exists elsewhere in our galaxy and beyond. Is it like ours, H2O? indicates the OP wasn’t asking that deep a question. He was simply asking if water was anything other than H2O elsewhere. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-chemical-composition-of-water-on-other-planets-different-from-our-own/690614.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-chemical-composition-of-water-on-other-planets-different-from-our-own/690614.md?page=3)