INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
With countries, space agencies and even private space companies lining up a series of lunar missions to the south pole in the coming years,
the first thing that comes to mind is why has this location become so important?Unlike the equator region of the Moon, where many lunar
exploration missions had been sent by several space-faring nations like the US, erstwhile Soviet Union and China, the south pole region has
mostly remained a virgin territory
The region has only been pictured from an altitude by orbiters of several countries over the years like the Lunar Orbiters, Clementine,
Lunar Prospector, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Kaguya, and Chandrayaan-1 probe and Chandrayaan-2 orbiter
These orbiters had been able to establish the fact that the region is suitable for a lunar outpost from where distant interplanetary
programmes could be launched.It's India's Time: Watch Indians Erupt In Pride As Chandrayaan-3 Successfully Lands On MoonThe lunar south
permanently shadowed craters
The region is also rich in minerals
Water and minerals are resources for future explorers
Secondly, the south pole region features craters that are unique in that the near-constant sunlight does not reach their interiors
Such craters are cold traps that contain a fossil record of hydrogen, water ice and other volatiles dating from the early solar system,
which could help scientists learn more about the history of our solar system.Thirdly, the mountain peaks near the pole are illuminated for
large periods of time and could be used to provide solar energy to an outpost
With an outpost on the Moon, scientists will be able to analyse water and other volatile samples dating back to the formation of the solar
system.Nasa scientists used LOLA (Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter) to provide an accurate topographic model of the Moon
With this data, locations near the south pole at Connecting Ridge, which connects Shackleton Crater to the de Gerlache crater, were found
At the same spots, it was discovered that the longest continuous periods of darkness were only for 3 to 5 days.Fourthly, the lunar south
pole is a place where scientists may be able to perform unique astronomical observations of radio waves under 30 MHz
The Chinese Longjiang microsatellites were launched in May 2018 to orbit the Moon, and Longjiang-2 operated in this frequency until July 31
Before Longjiang-2, no space observatory had been able to observe astronomical radio waves in this frequency because of interference waves
Though facing Earth, the lunar south pole has mountains and basins, like the south side of Malapert Mountain that are not facing Earth and
would be an ideal place to receive such astronomical radio signals from a ground radio observatory.ISRO chief S Somanath on Chandrayaan-3
By locating a lunar resource processing facility near the south pole, solar-generated electrical power will allow for nearly constant
Elements known to be present on the lunar surface include hydrogen, oxygen, silicon, iron, magnesium, calcium, aluminium, manganese and
Among the more abundant are oxygen, iron and silicon
preparation for the 2025 Artemis 3 crewed landing at the south polar region
It will study the data from the Chandrayaan-3 landing mission to finetune its mission parameters
Blue Origin is planning a mission to the south polar region
Likewise Russia and China are also likely to send more missions to the south pole in near future.WatchChandrayaan-3 Water Quest: Why is it
important to land on the South Pole of Moon?
