So the moon may not be as dry as we thought.
NASA project named Lunar Crater Remote Observation & Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) found several minerals on moon in year 2009. The astronomers confirmed the presence of water & large amounts of other minerals known to earthlings.
The LCROSS works by crashing into the rocks at the moon and then analyzes the material that is exposed as a result of impact. One such intentional crash was made by crashing a rocket from LCROSS back in October 2009 at the Lunar Southern Pole. 4 minutes after the rocket crashed, LCROSS also crashed into the location and found water and plumes of other minerals whose composition was analyzed. Similar testings at various locations revealed that the water isn’t present everywhere on the moon. It is distributed across the moon in small pockets and with them are usually found plumes of volatile compounds which get frozen due to low temperature.
Apart from water, astronomers found hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, ammonia, calcium and magnesium in GAS form. Now that’s interesting. Traces of silver and mercury were even detected.
Illustration of LCROSS launching a rocket to crash rocks on moon surface
Comments
Post a Comment