Doomed Chandrayaan-1 yielding useful data on Moon’s mineralogy

September 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Discovery of water on the moon by India's maiden lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 may bolster US space agency NASA's long-held goal of setting up an outpost there, a US researcher says. One ton of the moon's surface - in which the water's ingredients are held - could yield as much as 32 ounces of water, according to three reports from research teams who studied data from three spacecraft, including Chandrayaan.

September 25th, 2009 BANGALORE - India's first lunar mission, Chandrayaan-I, had made a "path-breaking and real discovery" by establishing the presence of water on the moon in June itself, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said Friday. India's own Moon Impact Probe (MIP) on board the country's maiden lunar craft had discovered water on the moon in June, a finding confirmed by US space agency NASA's probe that was also on board Chandrayaan-1, India's top space scientist G.

September 25th, 2009 BANGALORE - India's own Moon Impact Probe (MIP) on board the country's maiden lunar craft had discovered water on the moon, a finding confirmed by US space agency NASA's probe that was also aboard Chandrayaan-1, India's top space scientist G. Madhavan Nair said here Friday.

September 24th, 2009 BANGALORE - The "baby" had done its job by finding water on the moon, India's ace space scientist and project director of the country's maiden lunar mission M. Annadurai said here Thursday.

September 24th, 2009 CHENNAI - India's first lunar mission is perhaps the only space project that has raised many eyebrows. But the sensational finding of water on moon has vindicated Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) officials' faith in the Rs.386-crore mission.

September 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - India's maiden lunar mission Chandrayaan has been successful in finding traces of water on the lunar surface, the US space agency NASA said here Thursday, and thanked the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the partnership. A National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) official said that traces of water and hydroxyl, a molecule consisting of one oxygen atom and one hydrogen atom, was also found in the lunar soil.

September 24th, 2009 CHENNAI - The sensational discovery of water molecules on the lunar surface by an instrument owned by the American National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and carried by India's Chandrayaan-1 has been termed by scientists as a "very precious find". "Moon water is more precious than gold," an Indian space scientist told IANS, declining to be named.

September 24th, 2009 LONDON - Data from Chandrayaan-1, India's first lunar mission, has revealed the presence of large quantities of water on the surface of the Moon, a discovery that is a significant boost for India in its space race against China. ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) lost control of Chandrayaan-1 last month, and aborted the mission ahead of schedule, but not before M3 and the other instruments had beamed data back to Earth.

September 23rd, 2009 CHENNAI - Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman G. Madhavan Nair has said he can't confirm the presence of water on the moon.

September 23rd, 2009 CHENNAI - The American space agency NASA is expected to announce Thursday major findings of its moon mineralogy matter that went on board India's Chandrayaan-1. The announcement has been kept under wraps, but it is speculated it will be about the presence of water or ice on the moon.

September 18th, 2009 LONDON - India's Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS) has gathered data for a total of 30 solar flares, giving the most accurate measurements to date of magnesium, aluminum, silicon, calcium, and iron in the lunar surface. Although contact was lost with Chandrayaan-1 last month, the enhanced performance of the C1XS instrument, which exceeded its design specification, means that the science team will be able to determine the geochemistry of new areas of the lunar surface, adding some vital pieces to the jigsaw of the mineralogy of the lunar surface.

September 13th, 2009 BANGALORE - Indian media should stop criticising the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for abruptly terminating Chandrayaan-1 and instead applaud the success of its moon mission, a European space scientist has said. Although its life was cut short, ISRO's Chandrayaan-1 was a "fantastic success", Detlef Koschny, European Chandrayaan-1 project scientist, said in an e-mail interview.

September 2nd, 2009 PANAJI - Three days after the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) admitted the abrupt end of its Chandrayaan-1 mission, a leading US-based scientist associated with the project Wednesday termed it "a complete success", but added that "what we have not achieved is our ultimate goal, which was a much more extended mission that was to be achieved during the full two years". Speaking to reporters here on the sidelines of an ISRO-sponsored conference, Carle Pieters, science manager at the NASA-supported spectrology facility at the Brown University in the US, said: "I think it's a complete success." "The achievements are very difficult to accomplish.

September 2nd, 2009 PANAJI - Chandrayaan's moon mineralogy mapper has confirmed the magma ocean hypothesis, meaning that the moon was once completely molten, a senior scientist said Wednesday. "It proves beyond doubt the magma ocean hypothesis.

August 29th, 2009 BANGALORE -India's ambitious moon mission -- Chandrayaan-I -- has probably ended after losing radio contact since Saturday noon, said its project director M. Annadurai, but Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G.