Large quantities of water found on the Moon

Permabanned
Joined
15 Sep 2006
Posts
4,642
Location
Somewhere in York
Data from the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft also suggests water is still being formed on its surface.

It is believed that the water is concentrated at the poles and possibly formed by the solar wind.

The finding was made after researchers examined data from three separate missions to the moon.

The reports, to be published in the journal Science on Friday, show that the water may be moving around, forming and reforming as particles become mixed up in the dust on the surface of the moon.

Dr Mylswamy Annadurai, the mission’s project director at the Indian Space Research Organisation in Bangalore, told The Times: “It’s very satisfying.

“This was one of the main objectives of Chandrayaan-1, to find evidence of water on the Moon.”

The unmanned craft was equipped with Nasa’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper, designed specifically to search for water by picking up the electromagnetic radiation emitted by minerals.

The M3, an imaging spectrometer, was designed to search for water by detecting the electromagnetic radiation given off by different minerals on and just below the surface of the Moon.

Unlike previous lunar spectrometers, it was sensitive enough to detect the presence of small amounts of water.

M3 was one of two Nasa instruments among 11 pieces of equipment from around the world on Chandrayaan-1, which was launched into orbit around the Moon in October last year.

Carle Pieters of Brown University in Rhode Island and colleagues reviewed data from Chandrayaan-1 and found spectrographic evidence of water. The water seems thicker closer to the poles, they reported.

"When we say 'water on the moon,' we are not talking about lakes, oceans or even puddles. Water on the moon means molecules of water and hydroxyl (hydrogen and oxygen) that interact with molecules of rock and dust specifically in the top millimetres of the moon's surface," Pieters said in a statement.

Scientists said the breakthrough would change the face of lunar exploration.

Source

This is great news! Well done India. Lets hope this starts a chain reactions for other space nations to begin further exploration there.
 

JRS

JRS

Soldato
Joined
6 Jun 2004
Posts
19,498
Location
Burton-on-Trent
or they could spend that money on feeding themselves...

Oh, be quiet. We could take all the money used around the world for space exploration and pump it into eliminating poverty, and it wouldn't do a blind bit of good. At least with this they've actually achieved something, and hopefully paved the way for further exploration of the Moon.
 
Caporegime
Joined
29 Dec 2007
Posts
31,991
Location
Adelaide, South Australia
Large quantities of water found on the Moon

Er... slight exaggeration.


"When we say 'water on the moon,' we are not talking about lakes, oceans or even puddles. Water on the moon means molecules of water and hydroxyl (hydrogen and oxygen) that interact with molecules of rock and dust specifically in the top millimetres of the moon's surface," Pieters said in a statement.

Molecules of water in the top millimetres of the moon's surface. Not exactly a deluge.

This is great news!

Why?

Well done India. Lets hope this starts a chain reactions for other space nations to begin further exploration there.

Why?
 
Caporegime
Joined
11 Mar 2005
Posts
32,197
Location
Leafy Cheshire
Er... slight exaggeration.
"When we say 'water on the moon,' we are not talking about lakes, oceans or even puddles. Water on the moon means molecules of water and hydroxyl (hydrogen and oxygen) that interact with molecules of rock and dust specifically in the top millimetres of the moon's surface," Pieters said in a statement.
Molecules of water in the top millimetres of the moon's surface. Not exactly a deluge.

Nice to see some clarity :)
 

JRS

JRS

Soldato
Joined
6 Jun 2004
Posts
19,498
Location
Burton-on-Trent
To the folks decrying this as a waste of money that should have been spent on eliminating poverty - do you honestly think that if they had spent the cash on the poor it would have solved the problem of the starving masses? Really?

If NASA had been the one to undertake this mission, would you still be calling it a waste of money quite so vehemently? After all, plenty of folks below the poverty line in the good ol' US of A.
 
Associate
Joined
17 Oct 2002
Posts
1,960
Location
Hemel Hempstead
More water in the astronauts that have been there tbh.

And I agree with the 1) India space programme being an insult to their starving populace 2) Britain giving aid to a country with a space programme (when we ourselves have none) is absurd.

We are the only country that has launched a satelite into orbit, then close down the space program.

It was either space program or super sonic airliner. I would much rather have a space program.
 
Back
Top Bottom