WATER ON MOON

An announcement about a ‘‘major discovery’’ made by Chandrayaan-I is expected and the buzz is that this could be about water on the Moon.

If true, credit for this much-awaited discovery, however, could go to Nasa’s Moon Minerology Mapper (M3), one of the payloads on board Chandrayaan. The Rs 386-crore craft was launched on October 22 2008 and terminated on August 30 2009 following a communication failure. One of the mission’s main goals was to sniff for water.

If the discovery of water proves true, then it could trigger another round of Moon missions, and start serious hunt for life in outer space. India has not ruled out the possibility of a manned lunar flight.

Despite the failure of the star sensors, Chandrayaan-1 transmitted excellent images including that of the solar eclipse on July 22. Also at 12.30am on August 21, it flew along with Nasa's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) for four minutes to detect water ice in the north pole of the moon.



Among the experiments to be conducted from a 100km orbit were observations in the visible, near-infrared and soft and hard X-rays. Further, the Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument's objective was to provide ranging data for determining the height difference between the spacecraft and the lunar surface. Scientists admit that at an altitude of 200km, the return signal could be too weak for the purpose.

Chandrayaan's objectives also included orbiting around the Moon at a height of 100km for chemical, mineralogical and photo-geologic mapping of the surface and its X-ray spectrometer was to use X-rays to map the surface composition of the Moon and help scientists understand its origin and evolution, as well as quantifying the mineral resources that exist there.

The spacecraft's 11 scientific instruments were built in India, USA, UK, Germany, Sweden and Bulgaria

A camera on board India's maiden unmanned lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 has recorded images of the landing site of US spacecraft Apollo 15,

The Terrain mapper camera on board Chandrayaan-1, which had an abrupt end a few days back, has sent the prints of landing site of Apollo 15 and tracks of the lunar rovers used by astronauts to travel on lunar surface, a senior scientist associated with India's lunar mission said during a presentation here.

The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M³) is one of two instruments that NASA is contributing to India's first mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan-1 (meaning "Lunar Craft" in ancient Sanskrit), which launched on October 22, 2008. M³ is a state-of-the-art imaging spectrometer that will provide the first map of the entire lunar surface at high spatial and spectral resolution, revealing the minerals of which it is made.

Scientists will use this information to answer questions about the Moon's origin and development and the evolution of terrestrial planets in the early solar system. Future astronauts will use it to locate resources, possibly including water, that can support exploration of the Moon and beyond.

Chandrayaan's moon mineralogy mapper has confirmed the magma ocean hypothesis, meaning that the moon was once completely molten, a

senior scientist said Wednesday.

"It proves beyond doubt the magma ocean hypothesis. There is no other way this massive rock type could be formed," said Carle Pieters, science manager at the NASA-supported spectroscopy facility at Brown University in the US.

Pieters, who was in charge of the moon mineralogy mapper on Chandrayaan, was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Low Cost Planetary Mission Conference here.

Referring to the presence of anorthite, a calcium-rich iron-deficient layer on the upper crust of the lunar surface, she said this rose to the top as the moon eventually cooled down after a turbulent origin.

Pieters also said that the Chandrayaan mission, which has been abandoned after communication was lost with the satellite, had thrown up a couple of surprise findings, which included identification of a new rock type on the moon.

"All this new information helps us to understand better the history of the moon, which is already the model for all terrestrial planets," the scientist pointed out.

"The evaluation of the moon gives us an indication and an opportunity to study the early evolution of the planets," Pieters said, adding that missions like Chandrayaan would set the foundation for future lunar research and assist in the possible exploitation of mineral resources on the moon in the future.

"Although it is still early days, we are interested in learning about the mineral resources on the moon, which we could utilize in the long term," she maintained.

When India's space agency launches its first mission to the Moon in 2008, the spacecraft will carry an instrument provided by NASA to map the mineral composition of the lunar surface. 


The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) is a state-of-the-art imaging spectrometer which will give scientists their first opportunity to examine lunar mineralogy at high spatial and spectral resolution. It will map the entire lunar surface from an altitude of 100 km at 140 m spatial sampling and 40 nm spectral sampling, with selected targets mapped at 70 m spatial and 10 nm spectral resolution. Targets will include such features as outcrops exposed at the walls and central peaks of large craters, complex volcanic terrain, boundaries where different kinds of rocks converge, unusual or rare compositions, and polar regions.

This information will be important both for scientific and exploration purposes. A detailed characterization of lunar surface mineralogy can dramatically improve our understanding of the Moon's origin and geologic evolution, as well as the early development of the terrestrial planets (the rocky planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars).

Of course, a detailed map of lunar resources, possibly including water, will be of great practical use to future astronauts who may live and work on the Moon for extended periods of time -- and perhaps to those in the more distant future, for whom the Moon may be a way station en route to other planets.