New Delhi: Scientists have examined the data captured by the Chandrayaan 3 lander between 23 August and 03 September 2023, and characterised the plasma environment at the higher latitudes in the southern hemisphere of the Moon. The electrical environment close to the surface is far more active than previously believed. Superheated gas or plasma, considered the fourth state of matter is a mixture of charged particles including ions and free electrons. Without a thick atmosphere, the Solar Wind rains down on the lunar surface, resulting in a thin plasma environment or lunar ionosphere.

The steady rain of charged particles from the Sun on the lunar surface combined with the photoelectric effect result in the formation of plasma, with the energetic photons from the Sun knocking out electro

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