Countries like the US, China, Russia, and India are planning to set up permanent stations on the moon. For this, they need water, which is very important for astronauts. Scientists believe that moon water can be used not only for drinking and sanitation but also as fuel for rockets.

A new study by researchers from the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad has found that there is more easily accessible water ice on the moon than previously thought. This research helps scientists understand the temperature and ice distribution on the moon, which is important for future space missions and human settlements.

How scientists studied the moon’s temperature

To understand how much water might be on the moon, scientists first need to study its surface temperature. The moon has extreme temperatures—its days are very hot, and nights are extremely cold. Unlike Earth, the moon has no atmosphere to protect it from harmful solar flares from the sun.

This new study is a big step in understanding lunar temperatures. It is based on observations made by Chandrayaan-3, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) mission. In August 2023, the Vikram lander from this mission successfully landed on the moon. A team of researchers, led by PRL scientist K. Durga Prasad, studied temperature variations on the moon’s surface and beneath it up to a depth of 10 cm.

Their findings were published on March 6 in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.

Using advanced sensors to measure temperature

The research team used a special instrument called ChaSTE (Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment), which was part of the Vikram lander. They conducted an experiment directly on the moon to measure the temperature of the top 10 cm of soil. This experiment was done at Shiv Shakti Point, a location in the south pole region of the moon.

ChaSTE has a special thermal probe, which was inserted into the lunar soil to measure temperature. Prasad explained that the probe has 10 “custom-designed platinum resistance temperature detector (RTD) sensors with very high accuracy in the entire range of measurement.” These sensors work by detecting changes in electrical resistance to measure temperature.

The researchers collected data for about 10 Earth days, from August 24 to September 2, 2023, which is roughly eight hours of a lunar day. The temperature values were calculated using a 3D thermophysical model developed by PRL.

The study found that the peak surface temperature at Shiv Shakti Point was 82 oC. Prasad said, “The in-situ temperature profile itself was surprising” because it was higher than what NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) had predicted.

At night, the temperature dropped drastically to around -181º C. “It was exciting to know that actual surface temperature at high latitude locations can go to both high and low extremes,” Prasad added.

These findings suggest that the moon’s surface has unique thermophysical properties, meaning that different areas of the moon behave differently in terms of temperature.

Why this discovery is important

The researchers found that the location had higher temperatures because it was facing the sun. Since water cannot survive in areas that get a lot of sunlight, they decided to study places with different slopes.

They used data from the ChaSTE instrument to create a model and discovered that a flat area just one meter away had a much lower temperature of 58.85º C. This matched the temperature readings from satellites orbiting the moon.

The big difference in temperature over such a short distance showed that moon temperatures can change a lot even within small areas. The study also found that slopes facing away from the sun (tilted more than 14 degrees) stayed cooler. These cooler areas might allow water ice to move and stay beneath the surface, making them important for future space missions.

This means that water ice may exist in more places on the moon than previously believed. Scientists used to think that stable water ice could only be found at the moon’s poles. However, this study suggests that higher latitude regions, which are easier to explore than the poles, may also have water ice just beneath the surface.

What’s next?

This study is the first to measure temperature directly at a high-latitude region on the moon. The findings are important because they show that water ice may be accessible in areas beyond the moon’s poles.

Prasad explained, “This becomes an interesting finding as exploration of high latitude regions is less technically challenging than that of lunar poles, an important aspect for future in-situ exploration and human activities on the moon.”

The team is now studying how different lunar surfaces affect temperature and water ice stability. With this information, scientists can better model how water ice moves and remains stable in different locations on the moon. This could help in planning future moon missions, ensuring astronauts have access to essential resources.

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