Indian scientists find new evidence of more water ice on the moon

Water Ice on the Moon: Many studies have believed that ice may be present on the moon. Now in a new study, scientists have expressed hope of finding more water ice in the polar craters of the moon. The study also revealed that there is twice as much water ice in the northern polar region as compared to the southern polar region. What is special is that researchers from IIT Kanpur were also among those who conducted the study.

Research The study involved scientists from Space Applications Centre (SAC)/ISRO. They were joined by researchers from IIT Kanpur, University of Southern California, Jet Propulsion Laboratory and IIT (ISM) Dhanbad. In a blogpost, ISRO said, the study indicated that both the North and South Poles may have 5 to 8 times more ice in their subsurface than the ice present on the surface.

So does this mean that in future when scientists study to extract ice from the moon, they will not have to do much drilling. This study also supports the theory that the main source of water ice present on the subsurface in the poles of the moon is the release of gases during volcanic activities in the Imbrian period.

However, to reach their conclusions, the scientists used data from 7 instruments. These instruments
Mounted on NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, it includes radar, laser, optical, neutron spectrometer, ultraviolet spectrometer, and thermal radiometer.

ISRO has said that this study will make it easier to select a landing site in the future. Efforts will be made to land missions in areas where there are signs of water ice. This study has also supported another study by SAC, ISRO. That study has already speculated that water ice may be present in some polar craters on the Moon.