ISRO’s Pioneering Journey: A New Chapter in Lunar Science and ISRO’s Global Scientific Leadership
Over the past few decades, multiple space missions, including those by NASA and other international space agencies, have provided significant evidence suggesting the existence of water ice on the Moon’s surface, particularly at its poles.
Lunar Polar Regions: The Moon’s polar regions, especially the permanently shadowed regions within craters, have been of particular interest due to the potential for trapping water ice. These areas receive little to no sunlight, making them extremely cold and suitable for preserving volatile substances like water.
Confirmation from Lunar Missions: Spacecraft like NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) have used instruments to detect signatures of water molecules on the lunar surface. LRO’s Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment, for instance, has identified cold traps where temperatures remain low enough for water ice to remain stable.
LCROSS Impact: In 2009, NASA’s LCROSS mission deliberately impacted a part of a lunar crater near the Moon’s south pole. The impact kicked up a plume of material, and analysis of the plume suggested the presence of water molecules, as well as other volatile compounds.
Chandrayaan-1: India’s Chandrayaan-1 mission, launched by ISRO in 2008, played a significant role in discovering water molecules on the Moon. The mission’s Moon Impact Probe (MIP) detected water molecules in the lunar atmosphere.
Potential Resource: The discovery of water on the Moon is of immense interest to space agencies planning future lunar missions. Water can potentially be converted into oxygen for breathing and hydrogen for fuel, reducing the need to transport these resources from Earth.
If ISRO has indeed made an announcement regarding the discovery of ice and water on the Moon since September 2021,
