Chandrayaan-2 Mission Detects Sodium on Moon
According to a research recently published in 'The Astrophysical Journal Letters', the X-ray spectrometer 'CLASS' on the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter has mapped the abundant sodium on the Moon for the first time. Let’s educate that the full name of CLASS is 'Chandrayaan-2 Large Area Soft X- ray Spectrometer'. It has been manufactured at ISRO's UR Rao Satellite Center in Bengaluru.
This study suggests that the signs of sodium on the Moon may also come from a thin layer of sodium molecules that are weakly attached to the Moon's particles.
If these sodium are part of the Moon's minerals then these sodium molecules can be more easily ejected from the surface by the solar wind or ultraviolet radiation. This new achievement of Chandrayaan-2 will give an opportunity to do a new study about the lunar exosphere.
Chandrayaan-2
Chandrayaan-2 mission was successfully launched in July, 2019 by GSLV Mk lll from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. It is a mission to send an orbiter, lander and rover to the Moon.
Its lander crashed in the southern hemisphere of the Moon in the year 2019. But its orbiter is mapping the topography of the Moon, investigating surface mineralogy and elements, and studying the lunar exosphere.
