New Delhi | The Moon's surface is not just a uniform pile of dust, but a distinct two-layer "cake-like" structure with the top being only a few centimetres, a statement from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said on Tuesday, quoting a new study.
The layers show that the lunar surface has been hammered and crushed by constant bombardments of tiny meteoroids since the solidification of the lunar crust, it said.
The analysis was carried out by scientists of the Physical Research Laboratory, a national research institute for space and allied sciences, supported mainly by India's Department of Space.
For the study, the scientists looked at the site where the Vikram lander of Chandrayaan 3 executed a brief hop on September 2, 2023.
"When the lander's engines fired for the 'hop', the exhaust acted similarly to a blower, stripping away the top three centimetres of loose dust. This exposed the older, more tightly packed lunar material underneath," ISRO said.
The study also found that while the surface dust is light, at a depth of only 6.5 centimetres it becomes twice as dense and five times more cohesive.
For an astronaut, this means walking on the surface might feel like walking on dry flour, while just a few centimetres deeper, it behaves more like damp, stiff clay.
"These findings provide more insight for surface operations in the lunar southern polar region," said ISRO.
It said that understanding high diversity in characteristics of the lunar surface is essential for future exploration plans, especially for constructing scientific bases on the Moon.
"This study marks the first of such a class of unique measurements," it added.
