Chandrayaan-3 Lander Finds Lunar Surface Does Not Conduct Heat, Can Be Used As Thermal Blanket For Human Habitat

The lander of Chandrayaan-3 has found that the lunar surface does not conduct heat at all, making it suitable to be used as a 'thermal blanket for a human habitat'.

While the study based on the data from the ChaSTE payload is yet to be published, a temperature difference of nearly 60^oC has been reported between the surface of the moon and 10 centrimetres below it.

A senior scientist from the Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO) told Indian Express that extreme heat non-conductivity of the lunar surface could pave the way for temperature-controlled habitats under it.

Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE) was used to measure temperatures by keeping 10 sensors at 1 cm distance from each other and recorded temperature variations as the sun passed over.

The experiment, conducted for 14 days, also kept a heater on the eighth sensor at a depth of about 8 cm, which was turned on and off to observe the rise and decline in the temperature at different levels.

"That gave us the first information about the actual thermal conductivity of the moon. If it is non-conducting, I can use it as a thermal blanket for a human habitat," the scientist said.

"It’s like using a blanket during the winter nights — the temperature outside may be low, but if we make a habitat inside, any heat generated will remain trapped," he elaborated.

Notably, lunar surface is known to show extreme temperature variations. The temperature can be as high as 121^oC during the day and go down till -133^oC during the night, even -246^oC in deep craters.