Data sent by Nasa’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), one of the payloads aboard Chandrayaan-1, has indicated that there is water on the moon.

The data was received simultaneously by the SAC, Ahmedabad, and Nasa. A research paper on scientific findings indicating the presence of water on the moon has been published in the latest issue of ‘Science’ magazine.

Several papers on India’s moon mission have been written and published but this is the first paper to be published in ‘Science’, a journal which has great prestige within the scientific community. 

Data indicating the presence of water on the moon was sent mainly by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) but this data was supplemented by the hyper-spectral imager and the moon impact probe of the SAC, Indian Space Research Organisation.

ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair told news agencies on Thursday that the analysis of data was done by scientists of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the US and Physical Research Laboratory and Space Application Centre, both of which are headquartered in Ahmedabad.

Prof Bhandari said that more than a hundred scientists from PRL and SAC were involved in the C-1 mission, and that the achievements of the mission had been extremely understated.

“The efficiency with which it went into lunar orbit, consuming very little fuel, was spectacular,” he said. “The precision with which it happened was also remarkable and the propulsion was also very good. The impact probe also worked very well. The data we have received in the 315 days before the project was aborted will help us immensely in future Chandrayaan projects.”

Instrument scientist for the Indian Imaging payload, Dr Roy Chaudhary, told DNA that he is proud of the country today. “The discovery opens new avenues for further exploration and colonization of the Moon,” he said.

Soon after the launch of Chandrayaan-1, a jubilant Prof JN Goswami, director of the PRL, had told DNA that the success of the mission would make it India’s brand ambassador. “Now, we do not have to go and tell the world that India can do this and this,” he had said.