Chandrayaan-3 data shows sharp temperature difference just centimetres beneath moon’s surface: Study | Technology News

The Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE) experiment carried on the lander was like a thermometer that was wedged 10 cm into the lunar regolith — the lunar soil, rock chips, and mineral fragments that make up the top layer of the moon. The instrument had 10 sensors — each 1 cm apart — to measure the temperature at different levels within this layer.

“There are 10 sensors on it to measure the temperature at different depths for 10 days. We could see how the temperature was varying in different depths as the sun passed over the region,” the Isro scientist said.

The lunar day is equivalent to 14 Earth days — the Chandrayaan-3 mission was scheduled such that all the experiments could conduct experiments for nearly the entire duration.

After 10 days, a live thermal conductivity test was carried out. “There was a heater placed on the eighth sensor at the depth of about 8 cm. We turned on the heater after ten days to see how the regolith conducts the heat. The heater was turned on for four hours, switched off, and then the decline in temperature was measured by the sensors. That gave us the first information about the actual thermal conductivity of the moon,” the scientist said, adding that the paper is to be published soon.

The scientists said the experiment showed that the surface of the moon was completely non-conducting. “If it is non-conducting, I can use it as a thermal blanket for a human habitat. It’s like using a blanket during the winter nights — the temperature outside may be low, but if we make a habitat inside, any heat generated will remain trapped,” the scientist said.

One of the challenges of lunar missions is the extreme temperature variance — ranging from 121 degree C during the day to -133 degree C during the night. In deep craters, temperatures as low as -246 degree C have also been recorded.