Chandrayaan M3 Instrument Confirms Iron-Bearing Minerals On the Moon

William Robinson writes with news that the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), an instrument developed by NASA and sent aboard India's Chandrayaan-1, has confirmed the presence of iron-bearing minerals on the moon. This marks the beginning of an extensive examination of the composition of the lunar surface. "Isro officials said M3 would help in characterising and mapping lunar minerals to ultimately understand the moon's early geological evolution. 'The compositional map that will come out of M3 will have fantastic data on geological formation of the moon,' the official said. Researchers said the relative abundance of magnesium and iron in lunar rocks could help confirm whether the moon was covered by a molten, magma ocean early on in its history. Iron and magnesium will also indicate melting of the moon, if it happened and how it formed later. This metallic element has been found in lunar meteorites, but scientists know little about its distribution in the lunar crust."

So we mine iron on the moon,

[pecosdave]

exactly what is the canary we take down the shaft with us going to breathe?

Re:So we mine iron on the moon,

[ionix5891]

runs of and patents a canary space suit :P

Re:WTF?????

[Anonymous Coward]

As if actually analyzing the actual lunar samples brought back by earlier moon missions wasn't enough.

They did analyze and found them to be from some desert on earth :P

outsourced?

[ionix5891]

even space exploration is being outsourced to India? discuss

Danger Will Robinson!

[Anonymous Coward]

It had to be said.

Danger Will Robinson!

News about the Moon?

[Enter the Shoggoth]

William Robinson writes with news that the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), an instrument developed by NASA and sent aboard India's Chandrayaan-1, has confirmed the presence of iron-bearing minerals on the moon. This marks the beginning of an extensive examination of the composition of the lunar surface.

"Isro officials said M3 would help in characterising and mapping lunar minerals to ultimately understand the moon's early geological evolution. 'The compositional map that will come out of M3 will have fantastic data on geological formation of the moon,' the official said. Researchers said the relative abundance of magnesium and iron in lunar rocks could help confirm whether the moon was covered by a molten, magma ocean early on in its history. Iron and magnesium will also indicate melting of the moon, if it happened and how it formed later. This metallic element has been found in lunar meteorites, but scientists know little about its distribution in the lunar crust."

I'm far more interested to hear how Mr. Robinson and his family made it back from Alpha Centauri and did Dr. Smith and the Robot make the return journey with them?

Re:So we mine iron on the moon,

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe it simply detected the Death Star hull?

We've known this for a while.

[Wavicle]

Cheese contains approximately 2% of your RDA for Iron: http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/7583/2 [nutritiondata.com]

Re:So we mine iron on the moon,

[idji]

Danger Will Robinson! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danger,_Will_Robinson [wikipedia.org]