CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -Chandrayaan-2 was launched with the aim of mapping the variations in lunar surface composition, as well as locating and studying the surface of the Moon for the presence of water.

Detailed explanation-2: -The definitive discovery of Moon water came in 2008, when India’s space agency ISRO launched the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft to lunar orbit. Chandrayaan-1 carried with it a NASA-provided science instrument called the Moon Mineralogical Mapper-M3 for short-that observed how the surface absorbed infrared light.

Detailed explanation-3: -Spectral coverage improvements made since first mission mean hydration signatures could be identified. Chandrayaan-2 has revealed the presence of water in multiple locations on the moon, not just at the lunar poles, as observed by India’s first moon mission, Chandrayaan-1.

Detailed explanation-4: -Chandrayaan-2 orbiter of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has detected water molecules on Moon’s surface.

Detailed explanation-5: -In 2020, NASA announced the discovery of water on the sunlit surface of the Moon. Data from the Strategic Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), revealed that in Clavius crater, water exists in concentrations roughly equivalent to a 12-ounce bottle of water within a cubic meter of soil across the lunar surface.