Chandrayaan-2 Observes Global Distribution of Argon-40 in Lunar Exosphere
Recently, the Chandra's Atmospheric Composition Explorer-2 (CHACE-2) onboard Chandrayaan-2 mission made the first-of-its-kind observations of the global distribution of Argon-40 in the tenuous lunar exosphere.
Key Highlights
- Distribution: CHACE-2 payload has shown that the distribution of Argon-40 (Ar-40) gas in the lunar exosphere exists beyond the areas that were known.
- Ar-40 originates from the radioactive disintegration of Potassium-40 (K-40) present below the lunar surface. Once formed, it diffuses through the inter-granular space and makes way up to the lunar exosphere through seepages and faults.
- Variation: The observations provide the diurnal and spatial variation of Ar-40 covering the equatorial and mid latitude ....