The Imaging Infrared Spectrometer (IIRS) instrument onboard the Chandrayaan-2 lunar orbiter has confirmed the presence of both hydroxyl ions (OH) and water molecules (H2O) on the surface of the moon.
It has further quantified the amount of water molecules present on the lunar surface regions it imaged, and distinguished parts of the moon that are water-rich from those that are scant in hydration.
Researchers used the data obtained by the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter’s imaging infrared spectrometer (IIRS), an instrument that collects information from the Moon’s electromagnetic spectrum, to understand the mineral composition of the satellite. They analysed data from three strips on the Chandrayaan-2 IIRS sensor for hydration, which led to “unambiguous detection of OH (hydroxyl) and H2O (water) signatures.”
The research findings, published in the journal Current Science, state that hydration absorption was observed at all latitudes and surface types in varying degrees. “The initial data analysis from IIRS clearly demonstrates the presence of widespread lunar hydration and unambiguous detection of OH and H2O signatures on the Moon between 29 degrees north and 62 degrees north latitude,” researchers said.
It was also observed from the data that the brighter sunlit highland regions at higher latitudes of the Moon were found to have higher hydroxyl or possibly water molecules. Scientists at the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) in Dehradun opine that the formation of hydroxyl and water on the Moon is due to space weathering, a process of interaction of solar winds with the lunar surface. This combined with impact events lead to chemical changes that further triggered the formation of reactive hydroxyl molecules.
Credit : India Today
Picture Credit : Google
