Moon poles are rusting: Indian scientists

 
ISRO’s maiden mission to the Moon has sent images which showed that Moon might be rusting along the Moon poles, claimed Minister in the Prime Minister Office, Jitendra Singh here on Sunday.

In a big disclosure, the Minister in the PMO said the finding suggested that Moon’s outer surface is rusting along the poles despite the fact that the presence of water and oxygen is not known—the two elements needed to interact with iron to create rust.

Though Moon is known to have iron-rick rocks, it is surprising how it could rust without the presence of water and oxygen, the Minister said. In a press statement issued here on Sunday, the Department of space said that scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) claim that rusting could be because the Earth's own atmosphere.

The scientists claimed that earth’s atmosphere could be helping in rusting Moon Surface, indicating that Earth's atmosphere could be protecting the Moon as well. The Minister said, the scientists are also trying to decipher if the data of the Chandrayaan-1 suggested that Moon's poles are home to water.

Referring to India’s Mission Chandrayaan-3, the Minister in the PMO said the launch may now take place somewhere in early 2021.  Chandrayaan-3 will be a mission repeat of Chandrayaan-2 and would include a Lander and Rover similar to that of Chandrayaan-2, but will not have an orbiter.

Meanwhile, preparations are going on for India’s first ever Human Space Mission Gaganyaan, and the training processes and other procedures are also in place, he said.

He said constraints due to COVID-19 pandemic led to some disruptions in the plan for Gaganyaan but efforts are going on to stick to the timeline of around 2022. 

Chandrayaan-1 was the first Indian lunar probe under the Chandrayaan program. It was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation in October 2008 and operated until August 2009. The mission included a lunar orbiter and an impactor.

India launched the spacecraft using a PSLV-XL rocket on 22 October 2008 at 00:52 UTC from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

The mission was a major boost to India's space program, as India researched and developed its own technology in order to explore the Moon. The vehicle was inserted into lunar orbit on 8 November 2008.

On 14 November 2008, the Moon Impact Probe separated from the Chandrayaan orbiter at 14:36 UTC and struck the south pole in a controlled manner, making India the fourth country to place its flag insignia on the Moon. The probe hit near the crater Shackleton at 15:01 UTC, ejecting sub-surface soil that could be analysed for the presence of lunar water ice. The location of the impact was named Jawahar Point. The estimated cost for the project was 386 crore.