India's Chandrayaan helps NASA detect water on Moon

Washington: Using data collected by India's Chandrayaan mission, NASA has detected magmatic water locked under the surface of the Moon.

The findings represent the first remote detection of this form of water that originates from deep within the Moon's interior, NASA researchers said.

Earlier studies had shown the existence of magmatic water in lunar samples returned during the Apollo programme.

NASA said scientists using data from the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) instrument aboard the Indian Space Research Organisation's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, remotely detected magmatic water, or water that originates from deep within the Moon's interior, on the lunar surface.

M3 imaged the lunar impact crater Bullialdus, which lies near the lunar equator.

"This rock, which normally resides deep beneath the surface, was excavated from the lunar depths by the impact that formed Bullialdus crater," said Rachel Klima, a planetary geologist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel.

"Compared to its surroundings, we found that the central portion of this crater contains a significant amount of hydroxyl - a molecule consisting of one oxygen atom and one hydrogen atom - which is evidence that the rocks in this crater contain water that originated beneath the lunar surface," Klima said.

In 2009, M3 provided the first mineralogical map of the lunar surface and discovered water molecules in the polar regions of the Moon.

This water is thought to be a thin layer formed from solar wind hitting the Moon's surface.

Bullialdus crater is in a region with an unfavourable environment for solar wind to produce significant amounts of water on the surface, NASA said.

"NASA missions like Lunar Prospector and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite and instruments like M3 have gathered crucial data that fundamentally changed our understanding of whether water exists on the surface of the moon," said S Pete Worden, centre director at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California.

The detection of internal water from orbit means scientists can begin to test some of the findings from sample studies in a broader context, including in regions that are far from where the Apollo sites are clustered on the near side of the Moon.

For many years, researchers believed that the rocks from the Moon were bone-dry and any water detected in the Apollo samples had to be contamination from Earth, NASA said.

"Now that we have detected water that is likely from the interior of the Moon, we can start to compare this water with other characteristics of the lunar surface," said Klima.

"This internal magmatic water also provides clues about the moon's volcanic processes and internal composition, which helps us address questions about how the moon formed, and how magmatic processes changed as it cooled," Klima said.

The study was published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

1 Comments

Trending News

Recent News

Cyclone Vardah May Hit Andhra Pradesh-Tamil Nadu Coast on 12th Cyclone Vardah May Hit Andhra Pradesh-Tamil Nadu Coast on 12th Cyclone is currently located 520 kms south-southeast of Nellore, 490 kms east-southeast of Machilipatnam and 480 kms east-northeast of Chennai.…… Count of Indians studying in American Universities Count of Indians studying in American Universities About 206,582 Indians, an increase of 14 percent, are pursuing higher education in American Universities and Institutions. Majority of the…… ‘Love Hyderabad’ Sculpture Spoiled With Spit Stains, Foot-marks ‘Love Hyderabad’ Sculpture Spoiled With Spit Stains, Foot-marks Love Hyderabad, city's latest selfie spot at the Tank Bund continues to be defaced with foot-marks, spit stains and scribbles…… Security hiked in Kerala-TN border as Jayalalithaa critical Security hiked in Kerala-TN border as Jayalalithaa critical {"items":[{"type":"image","title":"","description":"","images":[{"name":"Security hiked in Kerala-TN border as Jayalalithaa critical","url":"security-hiked-in-kerala-tn-border-as-jayalalithaa-critical_z5HG.jpg","uploaded":false,"image_url":"\/media\/images\/news-articles\/india\/security-hiked-in-kerala-tn-border-as-jayalalithaa-critical_z5HG.jpg","image_url_final":"media\/images\/news-articles\/india\/security-hiked-in-kerala-tn-border-as-jayalalithaa-critical_z5HG.jpg"}]}],"description":"Security was beefed up on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border as Tamil Nadu Chief…… Jaya - Get Well Soon: PM, President & Politicos Jaya - Get Well Soon: PM, President & Politicos {"items":[{"type":"image","title":"","description":"","images":[{"name":"Jaya - Get Well Soon: PM, President & Politicos","url":"jaya-get-well-soon-pm-president-politicos_z5HG.jpg","uploaded":false,"image_url":"\/media\/images\/news-articles\/india\/jaya-get-well-soon-pm-president-politicos_z5HG.jpg","image_url_final":"media\/images\/news-articles\/india\/jaya-get-well-soon-pm-president-politicos_z5HG.jpg"}]}],"description":"Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa suffered a heart attack Yesterday. From President…… More India News