Indian scientists knew about lunar water presence in June

September 26th, 2009 LONDON - With an instrument aboard India's Chandryaan discovering water molecules on the Moon, scientists are now all the more confident of harvesting water from the lunar surface in the future, which could help sustain lunar astronauts and even propel missions to Mars. Three spacecraft - India's Chandrayaan-1 and NASA's Cassini and Deep Impact probes - have detected the absorption of infrared light at a wavelength that indicates the presence of either water or hydroxyl, a molecule made up of a hydrogen and an oxygen atom.

September 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Data from the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), an instrument aboard India's recently ended Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, along with the Deep Impact spacecraft, has confirmed the existence of water on the surface of the Moon, with scientists explaining the process of its formation. "Water ice on the moon has been something of a holy grail for lunar scientists for a very long time," said Jim Green, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

September 25th, 2009 BANGALORE - By finding water on the lunar surface, India's maiden lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 has completed "110 percent of the objectives", Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G. Madhavan Nair said here Friday.

September 25th, 2009 BANGALORE - Terming the finding of water on the Lunar surface a 'historic' one, ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair on Friday said that the Chandrayaan-I mission was a complete success. Addressing mediapersons here, Nair said: "The Chandrayaan mission performed wonderfully.

September 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Discovery of water on the moon by India's first lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 with a thin layer of surface 'dew' appearing to form and then dissipating each day has set the scientific community agog. "Finding water on the Moon in daylight is a huge surprise, even if it is only a small amount of water and only in the form of molecules stuck to soil," writes University of Maryland astronomer Jessica Sunshine.

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 WASHINGTON - The confirmation of elevated water molecules in the moon's polar regions by India's maiden lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 raises new questions about its origin and effect on the mineralogy of the moon, US scientists say. "Water ice on the moon has been something of a holy grail for lunar scientists for a very long time," said Jim Green, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

September 24th, 2009 BANGALORE - In a discovery hailed as path-breaking, India's maiden lunar mission Chandrayaan has found evidence of water on the moon. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) late Thursday confirmed that Chandrayaan-1 has detected presence of water on the moon.

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 - 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 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 24th, 2009 LONDON - The discovery of water on the moon by Indian maiden lunar craft Chandrayaan-1 is just the breakthrough international space scientists were waiting for in order to kick start the moon exploration programme again, the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) said Thursday. This is a massively impressive accomplishment, RAS Secretary Martin Barstow, a leading British astronomer, told IANS after American scientists made the stunning announcement that the Indian mooncraft had sent evidence of water on the lunar surface.

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 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The element hydrogen - a key ingredient in water - is more widespread than expected at the moon's south pole, scientists said Thursday. NASA scientists announced the first data sent back to Earth from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), a satellite that will spend the next year making the most detailed maps yet of the moon's surface to prepare for man's eventual return.

September 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The shadowy craters of the moon's south pole could be the coldest spot in the solar system, NASA scientists said Thursday. NASA scientists announced the first data sent back to Earth from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), a satellite that will spend the next year making the most detailed maps yet of the moon's surface to prepare for man's eventual return.