Chandrayaan-2 finds water ice on Moon's polar craters
- In Reports
- 10:14 PM, May 08, 2024
- Myind Staff
Several months after India's lunar mission, as Chandrayaan-3 explored the Moon's surface, polarimetric radar data sourced from the Chandrayaan-2 Dual-frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar has suggested a significant finding that indicates the potential presence of water within the polar craters of the lunar surface.
The research was a joint effort between scientists from the Space Applications Centre (SAC)/ISRO, along with researchers from IIT Kanpur, the University of Southern California, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and IIT (ISM) Dhanbad.
The study has suggested that “the amount of subsurface ice in the first couple of meters is about 5 to 8 times larger than the one at the surface in both poles", ISRO said.
The study further indicates that the quantity of water ice in the northern polar region is twice that discovered in the southern polar region. It also suggests that the water on the lunar poles “is outgassing during volcanism in the Imbrian period".
“The results also conclude that the distribution of water ice is likely governed by Mare volcanism and preferential impact cratering," ISRO said.
The team used seven instruments to make this significant discovery. It used “radar, laser, optical, neutron spectrometer, ultra-violet spectrometer, and thermal radiometer".
ISRO said, “the presented comprehensive understanding of the occurrence of water ice in the lunar poles, in this study, is crucial for supporting ISRO’s future in-situ volatile exploration plans on the Moon".
Meanwhile, China has initiated a 53-day lunar probe mission aimed at collecting samples from the far side of the Moon for the first time. These samples will be brought back to Earth for extensive scientific analysis. The far side of the Moon is not visible from Earth.
The Chang'e-6 mission is tasked with collecting and then returning samples from the moon's far side to Earth -- the first endeavour of its kind in the history of human lunar exploration, China National Space Administration (CNSA) said.
Image source: ISRO
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