THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Data collected by India's Chandrayaan 1 revealed that the presence of water on the Moon is influenced by electrons in the plasma sheet surrounding the Earth. Hydroxyl particles, a basic component of water on the Moon, were discovered by the Chandrayaan-1 mission launched in 2008. It was the American scientists who analyzed the data and discovered how these water particles are formed.

The study by scientists led by Shuai Li, an associate professor and researcher at UH Manoa School of Ocean, was published in the journal Nature Astronomy. Their discovery was made by analyzing data sent by the Imaging Spectrometer, the Moon Mineralogy Mapper instrument on the Chandrayaan 1 probe.

The magnetosphere surrounds the Earth and protects it from space weather and solar radiation. Inside this is a plasma sheet that is extremely hot and full of energetic particles. As the solar wind gusts, the plasma ring changes shape and forms long magnetic flares like comets. As the Moon passes through these magnetospheres, electrons, and ions in the plasma ring crash into the lunar surface at speeds above the speed of sound.

American scientists discovered that water particles are formed on the moon during this impact. Moon Mineralogy Mapper data from Chandrayaan 1 revealed the presence of oxygen in addition to water in the polar regions of the Moon. The presence of oxygen was confirmed by traces of rust found in lunar iron.