Based on the data from India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission, new findings suggest that water-ice on the Moon may be present beyond its polar regions.
A recent study, conducted by the scientists at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, used temperature data from the Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE) instrument to infer the possibility of water-ice deposits in high-latitude areas, according to Indian Express.
While using data from Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE), scientists at the Ahmedabad-based Physical Research Laboratory have shown that the surface and sub-surface temperatures in the higher latitudes of the Moon’s surface varied with even very small changes in altitudes over a short distance.
ChaSTE was the first instrument to measure temperatures near the Moon’s poles on-site. It recorded a temperature difference of nearly 60 degrees Celsius between the lunar surface and the layer just 10 cm below it.
This revealed that the top layer of the lunar regolith is highly non-conductive, shedding new light on the Moon’s composition and thermal properties.
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