Chandrayaan-1, India’s first lunar mission, has found evidence of large quantities of water on its surface, Data from the spacecraft also suggests water is still being formed on the moon.
Describing as “path-breaking” the evidence of water on Moon by India’s Chandrayaan-1 mission, ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair today said no lunar odyssey so far had given a “positive” conclusion.
“There is confirmation of traces of water.It is a path-breaking event as far as Chandrayaan-1 mission is concerned. It is very very significant. So far, no mission has confirmed the presence of water positively,”
The quantity is tiny but could become a useful resource for astronauts wishing to live on the Moon, scientists say.
“If you had a cubic metre of lunar soil, you could squeeze it and get out a litre of water,” explained US researcher Larry Taylor.
Scientists suspect the water is created in the soil in an interaction with the solar wind, the fast-moving stream of particles that constantly billows away from the Sun.
Space radiation triggers a chemical reaction in which oxygen atoms already in the soil acquire hydrogen nuclei to make water molecules and the simpler hydrogen-oxygen (OH) molecule.
The amounts are small, say researchers, but boost the notion that astronauts based on the Moon could use it as a resource.
“If it is a little or a lot, it’s easy enough to split into hydrogen and oxygen and then you have rocket fuel,” said Professor Taylor.
The Indian Moon mission was launched late last year but has already stopped working due to a fault. Nevertheless, the Indian space agency (Isro) will consider the water discovery a major triumph and a vindication of its endeavours.
Related posts:
- Chandrayaan comes to an abrupt end, loses contact with earth India's moon mission comes to an abrupt end...
- Chandrayaan sensor fails Chandrayaan-I, launched in October last with a two-year life span,...
- Century’s longest solar eclipse tomorrow A total eclipse occurs when the Sun is completely obscured...
- IIT-K to launch India’s lightest nano satellite ‘Jugnu’ The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur has come in...
- Kalam rejects Santhanam’s Pokhran II failure claims Kalam certifies that pokhran II was successful...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
