Chandrayaan-1 & Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Help In Discovering Evidence Of Water On Moon: NASA
The findings would help researchers to understand the origin of the Moon’s water and how easy it can be to use as a resource. The information also could be a great asset for future missions to our lunar satellite.
Scientists have discovered that there is an enormous quantity of water on the Moon . With the help of two lunar missions, Chandrayaan-1 and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), the researchers discovered evidence that the Moon’s water is widely distributed across the surface and not confined to a particular region or type of terrain. The researches at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) revealed that the water appears to be present day and night, though it is not necessarily accessible. The findings would help researchers to understand the origin of the Moon’s water and how easy it can be to use as a resource.
Not only that, but the information also could be a great asset for future missions to our lunar satellite. The statement released by NASA states that if the Moon has enough water and if it is reasonably convenient to access, future explorers might be able to use it as drinking water or to convert it into hydrogen and oxygen for rocket fuel or oxygen to breathe. However, the results contradict some earlier studies which suggested that more water was detected at the Moon’s polar latitudes and the strength of the water signal waxes and diminishes according to the lunar day.
Water, water, everywhere!
Joshua Bandfield, a senior research scientist with the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado was quoted in the official report released by NASA. He said, “We find that it doesn’t matter what time of day or which latitude we look at, the signal indicating water always seems to be present. The presence of water doesn’t appear to depend on the composition of the surface and the water sticks around.” The research also suggests that any H20 present on the moon is not loosely attached to the surface.
The evidence has come from remote-sensing instruments that measured the strength of sunlight reflected off the lunar surface. When water is present, instruments like these pick up a spectral fingerprint at wavelengths near 3 micrometres that lies beyond visible light and in the realm of infrared radiation.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 26, 2018 06:45 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).