CHANDRAYAAN-2 FOUND ARGON GAS IN THE EXOSPHERE OF THE MOON, PROVIDING EXCITING INSIGHTS

By -

 

Chandrayaan-2, an Indian spacecraft, has made some discoveries concerning the Moon. Chandrayaan-3 is scheduled to launch later this year, while its predecessor is still collecting data on the Moon's surface.

According to an ISRO release, the Chandra's Atmospheric Composition Explorer-2 (CHACE-2) instrument onboard the Chandrayaan-2 discovered Argon-40 in the lunar exosphere - the upper atmosphere of the Moon located beyond places where it was previously known to exist.

What exactly does this imply? This discovery could shed light on how lunar exospheric organisms and processes manifest themselves on the Moon.

As a result, scientists may be able to better comprehend the makeup of the lunar surface. The CHACE-2 detected the existence of Argon in the Moon's equatorial and mid-latitude regions.

Why is this discovery significant?

It's worth noting that this isn't the first time Argon-40 has been discovered on the Moon. Previous observations, as observed by the Apollo-17 mission, were limited to near-equatorial zones. "Argon-40 (Ar-40) is known to occur in the lunar exosphere, but there is little information about its distribution at higher latitudes. According to a report published in the scientific journal Geophysical Research Letters, Chandra's Atmospheric Composition Explorer-2 experiment aboard Chandrayaan-2 satellite "has constantly recorded Ar-40 in the latitude range of -60 to +60 degrees for the first time."

Argon-40 is classified as a noble gas since it is inert, colourless, and odourless. According to ISRO, the gas forms, diffuses with inter-granular space, and finally rises to the lunar exosphere.

The study found an increase in Argon-40 density around the dawn terminator, a reduction along the dayside, a secondary peak near the sunset terminator, and a night-side minimum, led by M.B. Dhanya of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.

Even with changes in temperature and topography, they discovered that the density of Argon-40 along solar longitudes is similar to that of low latitude locations.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

RAHUL BAJAJ, AN INDUSTRIALIST, DIED AT THE AGE OF 83

By -
Image
  Rahul Bajaj, an industrialist and former chairman of the Bajaj Group, died on February 12th. He was 83 years old when he died. "I am writing to notify you that Shri Rahul Bajaj, husband of the late Rupa Bajaj and father of Rajiv/Deepa, Sanjiv/Shefali, and Sunaina/Manish, has passed away. In the presence of his closest family members, he died on the afternoon of February 12th, 2022 "The Bajaj Group issued a statement. Rahul Bajaj had pneumonia as well as a heart condition. Dr. Purvez Grant, the managing trustee at Ruby Hall Clinic, said he had been admitted to the hospital for the past month. Rahul Bajaj passed away at 2.30 p.m. today. Rahul Bajaj, who was born on June 10, 1938, was the chairman of the Bajaj Group for more than 40 years. Rahul Bajaj stepped down as chairman of Bajaj Auto in April of last year and is now Chairman Emeritus of the company. In 2001, Rahul Bajaj received the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian honour. Bajaj was also a member of th...
Read more

SPACE AGENCY SAYS CHANDRAYAAN-2 ORBITER DETECTS SOLAR PROTON EVENTS ISRO

By -
Image
  Mumbai: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced on Wednesday that the Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer (CLASS), a payload on board the Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter, had discovered solar proton events (SPEs), which considerably increase radiation exposure to humans in space. Coronal mass ejections (CMEs), a tremendous torrent of ionised material and magnetic fields that reach Earth a few days later, causing geomagnetic storms and lighting up the polar sky with auroras, were also observed by the sensor on January 18. According to the ISRO, such multi-point measurements helps in the understanding of propagation and its impact on various planetary systems. Solar flares are dramatic explosions that occasionally spew out energetic particles (called Solar Proton Events or SPEs) into interplanetary space when the Sun is active. The majority of these are high-energy protons that have an influence on space systems and increase radiation exposure to astronauts. According ...
Read more

Sourav Ganguly Tests Positive For Covid, Admitted To Hospital: Report

By -
Image
  BCCI president and previous India captain Sourav Ganguly has been conceded to a city clinic in the wake of testing positive for COVID-19, the cricket board sources said on Tuesday. Ganguly is two immunized and has been voyaging broadly, participating in every expert movement. The 49-year-old was hurried to a medical clinic late on Monday night as a prudent step later his RT-PCR test brought positive back. "He was taken to Woodlands Nursing Home final evening. He has been given medicine and is as of now steady," a BCCI source, who is monitoring Ganguly's wellbeing, told PTI. Ganguly was conceded to clinic two times recently and went through crisis angioplasty subsequent to having some heart issues. His senior sibling Snehasish Ganguly had additionally tried positive for COVID early this year.
Read more