Chandrayaan finds iron-bearing minerals on moon

An experiment onboard India's maiden moon mission -- Chandrayaan-I -- has found iron-bearing minerals in abundance on the lunar surface, initial reports suggest.

Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) instrument of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has beamed back images of the Orientale Basin on the western limb of the moon.

Source: The Hindu

Chandrayaan images of the Moon taken by M3

The Chandrayaan is now revealing images of the moon taken by M3 - the Moon Mineralogy Mapper. M3, one of the 11 payloads on Chandrayaan, is an American device.

These images give new information on the composition of the moon's surface. These images will now help scientists explore and understand Earth's nearest neighbour.

The image was taken by Chandrayaan as the spacecraft orbited the moon at an altitude of 100 km. It reveals changes in rock and mineral composition, shows the abundance of iron-rich minerals such as pyroxene, and details the form and structure of the region's surface.