Rapid Fire
Water Ice Beyond Lunar Poles
- 13 Mar 2025
- 1 min read
Recent Chandrayaan-3’s ChaSTE (Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment) data suggests that water-ice may exist outside the Moon’s polar regions, particularly in high-latitude areas.
- ChaSTE is a sort of a thermometer that measures surface and sub-surface temperatures near the Moon's poles.
- ChaSTE data suggests shaded lunar slopes may resemble polar regions, potentially hiding subsurface water-ice.
- Colder slopes away from the Sun may trap water-ice, extending its presence beyond polar craters for easier access in future missions.
- Lunar water can support drinking, oxygen production, and splitting it into hydrogen and oxygen enables fuel production for deep-space missions.
- Chandrayaan-3 soft-landed near the Moon's south pole on 23rd August, 2023, at a site later named 'Shiv Shakti Point'.
| Read More: Chandrayaan-3 |
