It’s been months since India took a short and quick walk on the Moon as Chandrayaan-3 strolled around; polarimetric radar data used from the Chandrayaan-2 Dual-frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar has hinted at a major discovery that could be the much-needed evidence for the possibility of water in polar craters of the lunar surface.
The study was a collaboration between the scientists of Space Application Centre (SAC)/ ISRO, with researchers at IIT Kanpur, University of Southern California, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and IIT Dhandbad.
The study indicates 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. That’s not all; the study also suggests that the amount of water ice in the northern polar region is double what is found in the southern polar region. It also indicates that the water on the lunar poles is outgassing during volcanism in the lmbrian period.
ISRO stated, “The results also conclude that the distribution of water ice is likely governed by Mare volcanism and preferential impact cratering,”
The team made use of several instruments to make this major discovery. It made use of radar, optical, laser, neutron spectrometerer, thermal radiometerer, and ultra-violet spectro meter. ISRO also 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 also released a 53-day-long lunar probe mission to bring samples from the far side of the Moon for the first time and bring them for scientific studies. The far side of the Moon is not visible to us on Earth.
The Chang’e 6 mission is tasked with collecting and then returning the samples from the Moon’s far side to Earth. It’s the first endeavor of its kind in the history of human lunar exploration, according to the China National Space Administration.
