Context:
NASA deploys satellite to discover water on the moon.
- NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer orbiter, launched as a secondary payload aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, accompanied the primary payload, Intuitive Machines’ lunar lander mission (IM-2).
Intuitive Machines (IM)-1 Flight and Lunar Mission:
- IM-1 flight carries Nova-C lander (Odysseus) and six NASA payloads.
- Aims for soft landing near Moon’s south pole at Malapert A crater.
- Mission aims to gather data about the lunar environment.
- Success would mark the first private lunar landing.
- Significant milestone in NASA’s Artemis program.
- IM-2’s Objective: To settle on to the moon where it will drill beneath the surface in a bid to find water there.
Lunar Trailblazer Mission:
- Orbit at roughly 100 km altitude.
- Objective: Collect high-resolution images to determine:
- Form, distribution, and abundance of water.
- Better understand the lunar water cycle.
- Components:2 Lunar Trailblazer instruments will take measurements from lunar orbit:
- Lunar Thermal Mapper (LTM): Map and measure the lunar surface temperature.
- High-resolution Volatiles and Minerals Moon Mapper (HVM3): Search for light patterns indicating water on Moon.
- Significance: Guide future human missions to locate and extract water resources.
Importance of Lunar Water
- Drinking Supply: Processed into drinkable water.
- Breathable Oxygen: Converted into oxygen for breathing.
- Rocket Fuel: Hydrogen fuel for rockets.
- Exploration of the Solar System: Enables deeper space exploration, including Mars.
Lunar Water Discoveries Timeline:
- 2009 – Chandrayaan-1: ISRO’s Chandrayaan-1 with Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) detected hydrated minerals (OH/H2O) in sunlit areas.
- 2009 – Cassini & Deep Impact: NASA’s missions confirmed Chandrayaan-1’s findings of hydration on the lunar surface.
- 2009-2018 – LRO Observations: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter provided continuous data on lunar water ice in cold traps at the poles.
- 2018 – Chandrayaan-1 Data Reanalysis: Analysis of M3 data created high-resolution maps confirming definitive evidence of water ice in permanently shadowed regions.
- 2020 – SOFIA Discovery: NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy detected water molecules (H2O) on sunlit surfaces in Clavius crater.
- 2023 – First Detailed Water Map: Detailed map of water distribution across the lunar South Pole released based on SOFIA data.
- 2023 – Chandrayaan-3: ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 successfully landed near the lunar South Pole to study the region with potential water ice deposits.
Source: The Hindu
Previous Year Question
Which of the following pair(s) is/are correctly matched?
Spacecraft: Purpose
1. Cassini-Huygens: Orbiting the Venus and transmitting data to the Earth
2. Messenger: Mapping and investigating the Mercury
3. Voyager 1 & 2: Exploring the outer solar system
Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2014 Prelims]
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: (b)
Explanation:
Pair 1 is not correctly matched: Cassini-Huygens was the fourth space probe to visit Saturn.