Chandrayaan-2 Detects Presence of Water Molecules on Moon

According to data acquired from the expedition, Chandrayaan-2, ISRO’s second lunar mission, has identified the existence of water molecules on the moon. The imaging infrared spectrometre (IIRS) is one of the payloads on-board Chandrayaan-2, which is put in a 100 km polar orbit to gather worldwide scientific data, according to a study co-authored by Mr. A S Kirankumar, former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman.

“After adding physics-based thermal correction to reflectance data, the initial data analysis from IIRS unambiguously indicates the presence of extensive lunar hydration and unambiguous detection of OH and H2O signals on the Moon between 29°N and 62°N lat.,” the report said.

Plagioclase-rich rocks were discovered to have more OH (hydroxyl) or perhaps H2O (water) molecules than mare areas, which had greater OH dominance at higher surface temperatures, according to the study.

The development is especially significant because Chandrayaan-2 did not produce the expected results.

Chandrayaan-2 was launched on July 22 with the goal of landing on the moon’s South Pole. However, on September 7, lander Vikram made a hard landing, ending India’s hopes of being the first nation to safely land on the lunar surface in its first attempt.

The project’s orbiter is functioning normally and has been sending data to Chandrayaan-1, the first lunar mission, which revealed indications of water on the moon, according to the study.

Source: IBEF