The results for the first wet chemistry test suggested that the martian regolith contained several soluble minerals necessary for life , including potassium , magnesium and chloride .
Last week , nasa and other agencies announced results from instruments aboard three different spacecraft which all indicate that there is water present in the surface soil , or regolith , of the moon .
The lunar soil ( regolith ) contains iron , aluminum , calcium , silicon , titanium , and oxygen , as well as trace amounts of lighter elements such as carbon , sulfur , and nitrogen .
Agglutinates formed when micrometeorites hit the lunar surface and melted a bit of the powdery regolith . Tiny intact grains of soil were preserved within , like insects in amber .