Scientists have figured out the best place to land on the moon when humans return after over 50 years. India's moon mission, Chandrayaan 3, has revealed the best spot for people where they can mine water. The mission landed near the moon's south pole in August 2023, and the site was named Statio Shiv Shakti. A team of scientists studied the temperature data of the region and found something interesting.

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Led by Durga Prasad of the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad, the team noticed that temperatures at the spacecraft's landing site fluctuated dramatically. Statio Shiv Shakti is a sunward-facing slope where temperatures can go as high as 82 degrees Celsius and plummet to -168.15 degrees C. However, only a metre away the terrain faced the pole, where the temperature reaches a high of 59 degrees C.

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Moon conditions on Earth

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They created lunar conditions on Earth in a computer model, with topography and illumination being the same. The results showed that higher latitudes on the moon with slopes that face its poles are not as hot as other parts. Since these regions were found to typically receive less intense solar energy, the surface temperatures are cooler and could allow for the accumulation of ice at relatively shallow depths. 

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They deduced that these areas might be less challenging for humans to access local resources as compared to the polar regions where the conditions are more extreme.

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"Such sites are not only scientifically interesting but also pose less technical challenges for exploration in comparison with regions closer to the poles of the moon."

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Future landing sites on Moon

Humans are trying to return to the moon after over 50 years, but there are several challenges facing them. One such problem is taking essential resources with them. However, there is not a lot of it that spacecraft can be filled with, leaving them with only a limited quantity of food and water, besides other things.

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The latest finding can prove to be a boon for programs like Artemis aiming to send humans back to the moon in the next few years. NASA and other space agencies need to devise methods to find ice and harness it to make water. This water can not only be used for drinking but can be converted into rocket fuel by splitting water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen. This will make the missions more sustainable and cost-effective.