Water and hydroxyl on the lunar surface (Chandrayaan-1)
Agua e hidroxilo en la superficie lunar (Chandrayaan-1)
- Date
- 2009 · confidence high
- Place
- ISTRAC, Bangalore (Bengaluru), Karnataka, India
- Credited to
- ISRO and NASA (M3 instrument and Moon Impact Probe)
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What was discovered
NASA's M3 spectrometer aboard the Indian probe Chandrayaan-1 detected the signature of water and hydroxyl across the lunar surface, more abundant at the poles. It put an end to the idea of a completely dry Moon.
The M3 data were published together with those from Deep Impact and Cassini, which confirmed the finding; it is a shared discovery.
What it led to
- exploration of the lunar poles
- interest in lunar water resources for crewed missions