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The Structure of Ice in Space Is Neither Order nor Chaos—It’s Both

Jorge Garay

created: July 14, 2025, 9 a.m. | updated: July 24, 2025, 1:54 a.m.

There are frozen water molecules on comets, moons, exoplanets, and in your drink as you cool off from the summer heat. Space ice, as a result, is believed to be amorphous, lacking a distinct organizational structure like on Earth. For instance, not knowing exactly how space water freezes makes it difficult to estimate the proportion of water in other solar systems. Researchers are therefore studying space ice to gain a better understanding of how frozen water behaves away from Earth. Ice samples from comets, asteroids, and other solar system debris would be helpful, but until these can be captured, scientists are trying to understand space ice with computer models and simulations of ice on Earth.

1 week, 2 days ago: Science Latest