ISRO’s Chandrayaan-2 Reports Interesting Observations From Underneath the Moon’s Surface

Recently, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) reported their latest findings about the Moon as part of their Chandrayaan-2 mission.

Using the Chandra’s Atmospheric Composition Explorer-2 (CHACE-2) mass spectrometer present inside the orbiter, ISRO was able to identify the presence of Argon-40 (Ar-40) in the mid-latitude regions.

Even though this noble gas has been found on the lunar exosphere before, this was the first time Argon-40 was found in the mid-latitude regions of -60 to +60 degrees.

The ISRO’s findings were published in the scientific journal, Geophysical Research Letters, where the Bangalore-headquartered space agency showcased the global distribution of the noble gas on Moon’s tenuous atmosphere.

In their findings, ISRO reported that with the help of the CHACE-2, their observations of the presence of Ar-40 in lower latitudes were similar to the ones provided by the LACE experiment, which were done during the Apollo 17 mission back in the early 1970s.

However, the CHACE-2 also observed similar findings on the higher latitudes, and it’s been stated the Ar-40 found in mid-latitude regions interact similarly to the ones found in the low latitude regions. In both equatorial and mid-latitude regions, the noble gas interacts just like any other condensable gas, with variation in density with respect to solar longitudes.

These findings help provide more information on the dynamics of the lunar exospheric species and radiogenic activities in the first few tens of meters below the lunar surface.