Tag: ISRO

The Chandrayaan-2 equipment of the Indian Space Research Organization identifies hydroxyl, or water molecules, on the Moon.

Source: google

The IIRS captures data from the lunar surface’s electromagnetic spectrum, which is then utilised to determine mineral composition.

According to a new report published in Current Science, an instrument on the Indian Space Research Organisation’s Chandrayaan-2 has found the existence of hydroxyl (OH) and water molecules (H2O) on the Moon’s surface.

The data was acquired from the electromagnetic spectrum received from the lunar surface by the Imaging infrared spectrometer (IIRS), created by ISRO’s Space Applications Centre (SAC) in Ahmedabad, and then utilised to detect mineral composition. The lander and rover on Chandrayaan-2, which was launched in 2019, were entirely destroyed in a sad crash, but the orbiter remained operational and is now being used by scientists to make ground-breaking findings from the lunar surface.

The instrument has a wavelength range of 0.8 to 5 micrometres, allowing it to discriminate between OH (hydroxyl) and H2O (water) molecules with greater precision. The Moon Mineralogy Mapper or M3 was also used by Chandrayaan-1 in 2008. Its wavelength, however, was limited to 0.4 to 3 micrometres. Scientists questioned the instrument’s accuracy at the time, claiming that it was difficult to discern OH from H2O in this situation.

The paper, co-authored by scientists from the IIRS in Dehradun, the SAC in Ahmedabad, the UR Rao Satellite Centre, and the ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru, reveals that the formation of hydroxyl or water molecules occurs as a result of a process known as space weathering, which occurs when solar winds blow over the lunar surface. Another factor could be the interaction of small meteorites with the surface, which could cause chemical changes.

The discovery is also important for future planetary exploration and resource utilisation, according to the research. “The appropriate interpretation of hydration features using spectrum analysis is vital because it gives important inputs into the geology and geophysics of the mantle (of the moon) in terms of mineralogy, chemical composition, rheology, and solar–wind interaction.”

Importance of ISRO

Why government increased ISRO budget, while the country and Economy of India were facing issues?

Improve Quality of life on Earth.

There was a time when we humans only gathered and hunted,but someone then came up with the idea of agriculture, others might have asked why grow anything when we have so much work to do gathering and hunting, the answer for this is the same as why we need space agencies. The FASAL (Forecasting Agricultural Output using Space, Agro-meteorology and Land based Observations) programme was created by isro under which a centre named Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC) was established in New Delhi in April 2012, which operationally uses space-based observations, at national level, for pre-harvest multiple crop production forecasts of nine field crops. This not only increases the yield but also helps us calculate the perfect time for growing of different crops similarlya weather forecasting satellite Oceansat-2, launched on September 23, 2009 facilitates the study of ocean productivity, detection of algal blooms, sustainable fisheries management, etc. The satellite also provides data for forecasting of sea state, sea surface wind vector, coastal climate and weather. The cost of this mission is nearly equal to feed all of our country for roughly 8 days, but with the data we get in returnt for this amount we are giving our farmers the power to feed a lot more people for decades.

Economy and Developing new Gadgets

Out of the 13,949 crore rs. ISRO get, they are not just putting that much money in a rocket and launching it to mars or moon, most of this money actually goes to the salaries to the most skilled workers and innovative minds of the country. Some might say that why not leave this work on private space agencies like Skyroot Aerospace Private Limited or international
ones like spaceX? Private agencies are already doing their work but they are and will always be interested in profitable programes and will never take interese in crop or soil or weather forecasts. Through isro we also have developed many new gadgets and even robots like the latest one Vyommitra which will be soon travelling to space in Gaganyaan, a crewed orbital spacecraft.

Curiosity

This is the most important one even though it is soft. We have sent men to the moon and rovers to the mars not because its a quick payoff anyone can exploit but because as humans we have a list of questions we are willing to find answers to like how big is the space? Is there life anywhere other than earth? How did life begin? or how was the solar system born? Also isnt it facinating to think that one day one us will be the first one to set foot on mars like Neil Armstrong did on the moon? It could be anyone including u and me, what we need to do is just believe in ourselves and our scientists and engineers working day and night just so we can live a better life then our ancestors did.