Is there an atmosphere on the Moon?

What is the moon's atmosphere made of? We have some clues. The Apollo 17 mission deployed an instrument called the Lunar Atmospheric Composition Experiment (LACE) on the moon's surface. It detected small amounts of a number of atoms and molecules including helium, argon, and possibly neon, ammonia, methane and carbon dioxide. From here on Earth, researchers using special telescopes that block light from the moon's surface have been able to make images of the glow from sodium and potassium atoms in the moon's atmosphere as they are energized by the sun. Still, we only have a partial list of what makes up the lunar atmosphere. Many other species are expected.

We think that there are several sources for gases in the moon's atmosphere. These include high energy photons and solar wind particles knocking atoms from the lunar surface, chemical reactions between the solar wind and lunar surface material, evaporation of surface material, material released from the impacts of comets and meteoroids, and out-gassing from the moon's interior. But which of these sources and processes are important on the moon? We still don't know.

With the discovery of significant ice deposits at the moon's poles by NASA's Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) missions, and the discovery of a thin scattering of water molecules in the lunar soil by the Chandrayaan X-ray Observatory, another fascinating possibility has captured researchers' interest. The moon's atmosphere may play a key role in a potential lunar water cycle, facilitating the transport of water molecules between polar and lower latitude areas. The moon may not only be wetter than we once thought, but also more dynamic.

Moon's radiation damaging for humans, electronics

Washington: The radiation environment near the Moon could be damaging to humans and electronics on future missions, it has been revealed. To characterize this potentially hazardous environment, the Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) on board the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission, which orbits at 50 kilometers (31 miles) above the Moon's surface, measures the radiation that would be absorbed by either electronic parts or human tissue behind the shielding of a spacecraft. 

CRaTER has measured the lunar radiation environment since 2009, during the recent solar minimum. The solar wind is less turbulent during solar minima and thus presents less of a barrier to incoming galactic cosmic rays, so cosmic rays were at a high during that time period. Cosmic rays include various high energy particles, and they create a shower of secondary radiation upon impact with the Moon or a spacecraft's shielding. Looper et al. ran simulations that model the response of the CRaTER sensor to various energetic particles.

The simulations enabled the researchers to extract observations about the radiation environment from observations specific to the sensor. Looking at contributions from galactic cosmic rays, secondary particles, and sensor background, they were able to derive energy spectra for the radiation dose that humans or instruments would absorb in the lunar environment.

US not going to make another manned moon landing: NASA

Washington, April 09: NASA chief Charles Bolden has said that the space agency is not sending astronauts to the moon any time soon. Bolden's remarks came during a joint meeting of the Space Studies Board and the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board in Washington last week. According to a report by SpacePolitics.com, Bolden said the focus would remain on human missions to asteroids and to Mars.

Last week, Russia rekindled its plans for a robotic moon exploration program, unveiling its first new moon mission since the Soviet Union launched Luna 24 in 1976. Russian space scientists are scripting a new plan to reconnect with the moon, one scientist explained. Igor Mitrofanov of the Institute for Space Research said that exploration of the moon is an important part of the program. Russia is a spacefaring country not only with the robotic but also manned flight, he added.