Chandrayaan-1 spots moon's magnet zone

Bengaluru, Nov. 14: Indian mooncraft Chandrayaan-I discovered a new facet of the earth’s nearest astral neighbour: Scores of miniature magnetic bubbles that fend off harmful solar winds and cosmic radiation.

The latest findings could lead to the creation of protective shields for human colonies proposed on the lunar surface, says Dr Anil Bhardwaj, head, Planetary Science Branch at Isro’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram.

Dr Bhardwaj said the mini-magnetic fields were spotted by Sub-keV Atom Reflecting Analyser (Sara), an instrument built jointly by scientific groups from Sweden, India, Japan, and Switzerland.

“We found the first one on the far side and this has confirmed what was theoretically suggested about ten years ago,” he said at the Platinum Jubilee meeting of Indian Academy of Sciences on Friday.

He said the findings — of bubbles deflecting solar winds that collide with celestial bodies in the solar system — will be used by scientists and engineers readying European Space Agency (ESA)’s Bepi-Colombo mission to Mercury.

The new findings come a month after Nasa scientists announced that Chandrayaan found water on the lunar surface.