Abstract <p>The issue of water molecule formation in asteroid regolith has been considered. The possibility has been shown for the release of oxygen atoms from the silicon dioxide crystal lattice in the regolith as parts of silver hydroxide molecules. Silver hydroxide, in turn, can relatively easily react with hydrogen, which leads to the formation of water and silver. In this way, the possibility has been demonstrated for the formation of water molecules incorporated into the near-surface soil of an asteroid. The proposed mechanism for the formation of water molecules does not require such an unlikely event as the impact of two solar wind protons at a single point. In the situation considered, it is only necessary that the end of the proton track falls in the region where elements of the quartz lattice and metal sulphides are in contact. The presence of water molecules in the asteroid soil may affect the photoelectric properties of its regolith and the parameters of the dusty plasma system above the asteroid. A way to identify the nature of water formation on an asteroid may be the combination of a method for detecting water on asteroids, based on the observation of dust near the surfaces of these celestial bodies, and a method that uses the detection of neutron fluxes passing through regions of the surface of the celestial body.</p>