The much-heralded discovery of water molecules on the moon — a scientific finding that completely upends the previous scientific consensus that the moon is entirely dry — may have been an in-house affair, according to top scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
The Moon Impact Probe, an Indian lunar rover aboard Chandrayaan-1, detected the presence of water on its way down to land on the moon’s surface, ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair announced on Friday on national television.
“We truly believe it is a path-breaking discovery,” Nair said. “The quantity of water was more than we expected.”
Nair said the Moon Impact Probe took close-up photos that indicated the presence of water. The probe’s mission was to land on the moon and make close-range observations of the lunar surface, according to ISRO’s Web site. The instrument, which was designed by ISRO, is 375 by 470 millimetres, a little larger than a standard shoe box.
The lunar water discovery was confirmed by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper, an instrument created by the US-based National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and carried aboard Chandrayaan-1.
Two other NASA missions, not affiliated with Chandrayaan-1, also confirmed the presence of water on the moon.
Chandrayaan-1, which completed 95 per cent of its scientific objectives despite being terminated a year ahead of schedule, has brought back a vast amount of new data about the moon, scientists agree. It could take years to sort through all the mission’s findings, Nair said.
Two other NASA missions, not affiliated with Chandrayaan-1, also confirmed the presence of water on the moon.
Chandrayaan-1, which completed 95 per cent of its scientific objectives despite being terminated a year ahead of schedule, has brought back a vast amount of new data about the moon, scientists agree. It could take years to sort through all the mission’s findings, Nair said.
When Chandrayaan-1 was launched on October 22, 2008, it carried a record 11 projects by scientists from seven nations.