NEW DELHI: India’s maiden mission to the moon, Chandrayaan, found first evidence of water on the lunar surface before it terminated. A joint Indo-US study published in the prestigious American journal Science has revealed this startling finding.

For long scientists have believed the moon is essentially a

dry, parched pockmarked

landscape. But the new studies based on the images taken by Chandrayaan provide clinching evidence of water molecules being present.

An analysis of Chandrayaan’s images shows not drops of

water, but a thin, invisible film

of water molecules.

This is a result of solar winds bringing in hydrogen ions which convert into water molecules on lunar rocks.The new pictures show blue patches which indicate the presence of water molecules near the poles of the moon.

Chandrayaan’s pathbreaking findings have been reinforced by data from two American spacecraft, Cassini and High Impact. But the clincher really came from the $100 million Indian moon mission which was recently lost in space.

Now, the question — so what if there’s water on the moon? Well, for one, humans can colonise the moon. Theoretically, water and fuel can be extracted. It will be quite a task, however, as several kg of soil may yield only a drop of

water.

Many a tear was shed when the Chandrayaan mission was terminated. But now, one can say “Chandrayaan-1 is dead, long live Chandrayaan”. For many more goodies are still expected from India’s short love affair with the moon.