According to measurement data from the Indian space vehicle that landed on the moon last month, the surface of the celestial body is hotter than expected. This is what the American news site CNN writes.
“We all believed the temperature could be around 68 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit (20 to 30 degrees Celsius), but it is 158 degrees Fahrenheit (70 degrees Celsius). This is surprisingly higher than what we expected,” said an Indian scientist.
The unmanned space vehicle successfully landed on the moon’s south pole on August 23, a first for that location. The vehicle contains a lander weighing 1,700 kilos and a six-wheel cart weighing 26 kilos. According to CNN, the cart traveled a distance of more than a hundred meters on the moon’s surface.
Sulfur
This vehicle also picked up seismic activity with an instrument designed to record moonquakes. Another instrument on board the vehicle detected the presence of sulfur in the area.
Scientists will now investigate how sulfur ended up on the moon. This could be naturally occurring, due to volcanic activity or due to a meteorite impact, writes CNN.
The lander and cart have been put into sleep mode by the Indian Space Agency as the landing site is currently in the shadow of the Earth. They will turn on again later this month, as soon as sunlight falls on this part of the moon.
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