Dark side of the moon

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Ahead of the scheduled landing of the Chandrayaan-3 lander on the moon on, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) released images of the far side of the lunar surface.

Key details:

• The far side is also known as the dark side of the moon as it is always hidden from earth.
• The images were captured by the Lander Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera (LHDAC) onboard the lander.

About the Dark Side Of the Moon

• The “dark side of the moon” refers to the side of the Moon that is not visible from Earth.
• It’s often misunderstood as a place that never sees sunlight, but in reality, both the near side (the one facing us) and the far side (the “dark side”) of the Moon experience day and night just like any other celestial body.
• The reason it is referred as the dark side is because it remained largely unseen by humans.
• The Moon’s one rotation is equivalent to the Earth’s 14 days.
• So we always see the same face of the Moon from the Earth.
• The far side remained hidden until the Soviet spacecraft Luna 3 captured images of it in 1959.

Significance of the far side:

Potential of Frozen Water:

• As we haven’t explored that side before, there is possibility to find water near the south pole of the Moon.
• Water exists as a solid or vapour on the Moon because of the vacuum – the Moon doesn’t have enough gravity to hold an atmosphere.
• The frozen water untainted by the Sun’s radiation might have accumulated in cold polar regions over millions of years, leading to the accumulation of ice on or near the surface.

Mystery:

• Because it was unseen for so long, the far side became shrouded in mystery.
• People wondered if it looked drastically different from the side we knew.
• Scientific Interest:
• Exploring the far side of the Moon provides an opportunity to study its geological features, impact craters, and other phenomena that might differ from what we see on the near side.

Potential for Radio Telescopes:

Scientists have proposed placing large radio telescopes on the far side to study the early universe and cosmic phenomena more effectively, shielded from our planet’s radio noise.

Future Lunar Missions:

• The far side could serve as a strategic base for future lunar exploration.
• It provides a unique environment for scientific study and a potential location for future lunar settlements.