ISRO find water on the Moon || ISRO finds proof of ice water in polar craters of the moon

ISRO finds proof of ice water in polar craters of the moon :-

Details About ISRO -

ISRO                        - Indian Space Research Organisation

Formed                     - 15 August 1969 

Old Name of ISRO  - INCOSPAR

INCOSPAR             - Indian National Committee for Space Research

Formed                     - 1962

Indian Scientist Vikram-Sarabhai is known as the father of  Indian Space Program.

    The Indian Space Research Organisation ISRO is responsible for performing tasks related to space-based operations, international space cooperation and the development of related technologies. This is one of the 6th govt. space agencies in the world that possesses full launch capabilities, it can deploy cryogenic engines, and operate artificial satellites.

History -

    ISRO was previously called as the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), set up under Jawahar-lal-Nehru on the suggestions of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai in 1962 recognising the needs for space research program. INCOSPAR grew and became ISRO in 15 August 1969, within the Department of DAE- Atomic Energy . In 1972, the government of India set up a Space Commission and the DoS, bringing ISRO under it. The establishment of Indian Space Research Organisation thus institutionalised space research activities in India.

Big Achivement -

    A study by ISRO's scientists has found evidence of enhanced possibility of water ice occurrence in the polar craters of the moon. The study was done by scientists of ISRO’s Space Applications Centre (SAC) in collaboration with researchers of IIT Kanpur, University of Southern California, Jet Propulsion Laboratory and IIT (ISM) Dhanbad Jharkhand. The study suggests that the amount of sub-surface ice in the First couple of metres is about have to eight times greater than the one on the surface in both poles. As such, drilling on the moon surface to sample or excavate that ice will be primordial for future missions and long-term human presence. Moreover, the research suggests that the extent of water ice in the northern polar region is twice that in the southern polar region. The study confirms the hypothesis that the primary source of sub-surface ice water  in the lunar poles is gassing out during volcanism in the Imbrian period. The results conclude that the distribution of water ice is likely governed by mare volcanism and preferential impact cratering. Accurate details of the distribution and depth of water ice occurrence in the lunar poles, as presented in the investigation, is crucial for constraining the uncertainties in selecting future landing and sampling sites for missions aimed at exploring and characterising lunar volatiles.

This study is crucial for supporting ISRO’s future in-situ volatile exploration plans on the moon.

IIA is releases video of the moon occulting brightest star Antares :-

    Bengaluru, Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) has claimed the passing of the moon in front of Antares, a bright red star. The moon passed in front of Antares on April 27, hiding it for almost 40 minutes. IIA said this event was visible only from south India. IIA claimed the event from its Bengaluru campus using a camera on an eight-inch telescope. While moving in its orbit once a month, the moon will occult, or hide, bright stars that are behind, and sometimes, even planets. This happens now and then for the star Antares , which is the brightest star in the constellation of Scorpius. Since the moon is relatively close to the Earth, such occultations will be visible only from some locations on globe. The last occultation of Antares, which was visible from India, was on February 5 this year.  Next one will be in June 2027. From Bengalore- Antares disappeared behind the bright side of the gibbous moon around at 1:13 a.m. and reappeared at the darker side around at 1:53 a.m.

Particle called quarks, hold the key to the final fate of some stars :-

    We know that all matters are composed of atoms, and atoms are made of protons 'positive' and neutrons inside the nucleus and electrons 'negative' outside. But unlike electrons, protons and neutrons are composite particles because they are further made up of quarks. Quarks can’t exist in isolation. They can only be found in group of 2 or 3 not more. Such clumps of quarks are called hadrons. Protons and neutrons are common examples. Scientist have mostly studied quarks based on the behaviour of hadrons, and all are also interested in how quarks clump together. When quarks clump Two recent landings revealed new insights on this count. One, published on 'Feb 20', reported that 3 -quark clumps are more likely to form than two-quark clumps when a particular type of quark is more densely surrounded by some other particles. According to the international team of researchers that conducted this study, the landing rejects “conventional particle-physics models in which the consolidation of quarks is independent of the particle environment”. Another study, published on March 15, reported observing clumps composed entirely of the heavier quarks. Protons 'positive' and neutrons both are clumps of lighter quarks and are thus more long-lived. Heavy quark clumps are very very short lived and harder to study and research, requiring more sophisticated tools and computing power. Yet understanding them is important to complete our knowledge of all quarks. In the particular and unusual case of quark stars, understanding quarks could have a more direct impact.

The tension of every star A star is a globe of matter that has found a way to strike a balance between two forces. The force of gravitation arising from the star’s encourages the star to collapse under its own weight and implode. The (nuclear) force, expressed in the explosive energy released by fusion reaction at its core, pushes the star to blow up and outwards. In a star, 2 forces are equally matched and it shines in the sky. But once a star runs out of materials to fuse, nuclear fusion weakens and gravity starts to gain the upper hand. Eventually, the star will ‘die’ and implode. Its fate in its after life depends on how big and massive it was when it lived, as a result forming a white dwarf, a neutron star or a black hole. Scientists have estimated that if the Sun were 20-times more bigger, it may collapse into a black hole when it dies. If it were only 8-times bigger, it could become a neutron star. But could there be stars that are too heavy and big to form a neutron star yet not too heavy to form a black hole, and thus form a quark star?

Research -

quark matter -

 They also don’t know either the masses or the radii of most neutron stars in the universe. 

In December 2023, researchers from the University of Helsinki reported in the journal Nature Communications that the insides of most massive neutron stars have an 80-90% chance of being made of quark matter.