M Thomas Apple Author Page

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Chandraan-3 rover finds…sulfur on the Moon?

September 1, 2023
MThomas

c/o ISRO

India’s Moon rover is making tracks…

One main reason for landing at the Moon’s South Pole is that the presence of water would help us build permanent settlements…

This region on the moon is an attractive place for humans to build a lasting presence due to the fact that water ice is located underfoot. Future moon-dwellers can potentially tap into that water for consumption, or even to create rocket propellant, instead of depending on water shipped from Earth.

https://www.space.com/chandrayaan-3-sulfur-surprising-composition-lunar-south-pole-soil

Another reason has now been found…iron, manganese, aluminum, titanium…and “surprisingly” sulfur. Why should they be surprised? It’s already been established that the Moon has ice, and sulfur forms every time hydrocarbon and sulfates combine. Plus sulfur obviously results from volcanic activity, and it’s likely the Moon was volcanic when it first formed. And sulfur is also produced through nuclear fusion – i.e., the Sun.

So what can we do with this knowledge?

Having a more complete chemical composition of the lunar south pole area means future travelers to — and possible inhabitants of — the region can also plan for what else they don’t need to bring from Earth. In particular, some scientists have suggested moon-dwellers could use sulfur in bits of infrastructure such as building materials, solar cells and batteries.

Hmmm…I think more studies are needed first…define “bits,” for example.

Chandrayaan-3 to the Moon!

July 19, 2023
MThomas

I love the helpful explanation about the scale…

“If we want to develop the Moon as an outpost, a gateway to deep space, then we need to carry out many more explorations to see what sort of habitat would we be able to build there with the locally-available material and how will we carry supplies to our people there,” Mr Annadurai says.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-66185565

Chandrayaan-1 was India’s first successful Moon launch in 2008 — it deliberately crashed in order to measure the amount of water at the South Pole.

Chandrayaan-2 was only partly successful, as it did put an orbiter around the Moon, but the rover crashed. (The orbiter is still there, sending back information on a regular basis.)

Now, Chandrayaan-3 aims to finally land a rover and do some research exploring.

Let’s hope they can get it to land safely this time…

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