Chandrayaan-1 data links earth electrons to water on moon

New Delhi, September 15

Scientists analysing remote sensing data from Chandrayaan-1 lunar mission have found that high energy electrons from the earth may be forming water on the moon.

The team, led by researchers from the University of Hawai’i in the US, discovered that these electrons in earth’s plasma sheet are contributing to weathering processes — breaking down or dissolving of rocks and minerals — on the moon’s surface.

Aditya-L1 completes 4th orbit manoeuvre

• India’s first solar mission Aditya-L1 has successfully performed the fourth earth-bound manoeuvre
• The ISRO, in a post on X on Friday, said the new orbit attained is 256 km x 1,21,973 km
• The next manoeuvre (Trans-Lagragean Point 1 insertion), a send-off from the earth, is scheduled for September 19

The research, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, found that the electrons may have aided the formation of water on the lunar body. Knowing the concentrations and distributions of water on the moon is critical to understanding its formation and evolution, and to providing water resources for future human exploration, the researchers said.

The new finding may also help explain the origin of the water ice previously discovered in the permanently shaded regions of the moon, they said. Chandrayaan-1 played a crucial role in the discovery of water molecules on the moon. The mission, launched in 2008, was the first Indian lunar probe under the Chandrayaan programme.