ID :
37457
Fri, 12/26/2008 - 06:16
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/37457
The shortlink copeid
Chandrayaan instrument throws new light on moon surface
Bangalore, Dec 25 (PTI) The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3),
one of the 11 payloads on board India's Chandrayaan-I
spacecraft, has taken composite image of the Orientale Basin
region of the moon providing new information, officials said.
Different wavelengths of light in the image captured by
M3 during the commissioning phase of Chandrayaan-I as the
spacecraft orbited the moon at an altitude of 100 km, provided
new information about the region, located on the moon's
western limb, they said.
M3 is from Brown University and Jet Propulsion Laboratory
in the United States.
"The Moon Mineralogy Mapper provides us with
compositional information across the moon that we have never
had access to before", said Carle Pieters, the instrument's
principal investigator, from Brown University, in a statement.
"Our ability to now identify and map the composition of
the surface in geologic context provides a new level of detail
needed to explore and understand Earth's nearest neighbour",
he said.
The image revealed changes in rock and mineral
composition, indicated the abundance of iron-bearing minerals
such as pyroxene, and provided a new level of detail on the
form and structure of the region's surface.
M3 is the first instrument to provide highly uniform
imaging of the lunar surface. Along with the length and width
dimensions across a typical image, the instrument analyses a
third dimension - colour.
M3 provides scientists their first opportunity to examine
lunar mineralogy at high spatial and spectral resolution.
According to Indian Space Research Organisation, which
launched the Chandrayaan-I mission, M3 is an imaging
spectrometer intended to assess and map lunar mineral
resources at high spatial and spectral resolution to support
planning for future targeted missions.
It will help in characterising and mapping lunar minerals
in the context of the moon's early geological evolution. M3
may also help in identifying water ice in the lunar polar
areas. Its operating range is 0.7 to three micrometre. The
instrument has a spatial resolution of 70 m. PTI RS
DEP
NNNN
one of the 11 payloads on board India's Chandrayaan-I
spacecraft, has taken composite image of the Orientale Basin
region of the moon providing new information, officials said.
Different wavelengths of light in the image captured by
M3 during the commissioning phase of Chandrayaan-I as the
spacecraft orbited the moon at an altitude of 100 km, provided
new information about the region, located on the moon's
western limb, they said.
M3 is from Brown University and Jet Propulsion Laboratory
in the United States.
"The Moon Mineralogy Mapper provides us with
compositional information across the moon that we have never
had access to before", said Carle Pieters, the instrument's
principal investigator, from Brown University, in a statement.
"Our ability to now identify and map the composition of
the surface in geologic context provides a new level of detail
needed to explore and understand Earth's nearest neighbour",
he said.
The image revealed changes in rock and mineral
composition, indicated the abundance of iron-bearing minerals
such as pyroxene, and provided a new level of detail on the
form and structure of the region's surface.
M3 is the first instrument to provide highly uniform
imaging of the lunar surface. Along with the length and width
dimensions across a typical image, the instrument analyses a
third dimension - colour.
M3 provides scientists their first opportunity to examine
lunar mineralogy at high spatial and spectral resolution.
According to Indian Space Research Organisation, which
launched the Chandrayaan-I mission, M3 is an imaging
spectrometer intended to assess and map lunar mineral
resources at high spatial and spectral resolution to support
planning for future targeted missions.
It will help in characterising and mapping lunar minerals
in the context of the moon's early geological evolution. M3
may also help in identifying water ice in the lunar polar
areas. Its operating range is 0.7 to three micrometre. The
instrument has a spatial resolution of 70 m. PTI RS
DEP
NNNN
