ISRO's major success: Chandrayaan-2 observed for the first time how the sun affects the moon, highlights

News Topical, Digital Desk : The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has achieved a major success. ISRO announced that its Chandrayaan-2 lunar orbiter has observed the impact of a solar coronal mass ejection (CME) on the Moon for the first time.

The discovery was made using Chandra's Atmospheric Composition Explorer-2 (CHACE-2), one of the orbiter's scientific instruments. Observations revealed that when the CME impacted the lunar surface, the total pressure of the lunar dayside exosphere, or its very thin atmosphere, increased significantly.

CHACE-2 saw it first

According to ISRO, the total number of neutral atoms and molecules increased by more than an order of magnitude during this event. This confirmed long-standing theoretical models, but had never been directly observed before. "This increase is similar to earlier theoretical models that predicted such an effect, but CHACE-2 on Chandrayaan-2 has observed it for the first time," the space agency said in a statement.

What is a coronal mass ejection?

The Sun is our nearest star. It's a ball of fire, millions of degrees Celsius hot and millions of times larger than Earth. Thousands of explosions occur on the Sun's surface all the time. These explosions are caused by the charged plasma, intense temperatures, and magnetic fields present there. This creates a massive storm, spewing a large amount of charged plasma into space. This is called a coronal mass ejection.

Why is this occasion special?

In fact, this rare observation opportunity began last year on May 10th when a series of CMEs were ejected from the Sun toward the Moon. This powerful solar activity caused atoms on the Moon's surface to be ejected into the Moon's exosphere, temporarily increasing its density and pressure.

ISRO said that this direct observation provides valuable information about how solar activity affects the lunar environment, which could prove crucial for planning future lunar settlements and scientific bases for humans.

ISRO stressed that such extreme solar events can change the lunar environment for some time, which may create difficulties in building a long-term base on the Moon.

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