India’s moon rover on the South Pole detected movement underneath the surface
Topics: Space, India, Science, Technology, Moon
Emily Brown
Featured Image Credit: Twitter/ISRO / Getty Stock Images
Topics: Space, India, Science, Technology, Moon
If there's one place you wouldn't expect to notice something moving, it would be the moon.
Ever since humans figured out there were other planets and stars to explore beyond our own, the question of life outside Earth has been a point of intrigue.
However, decades on, and we're yet to come across any little green men - least of all on the moon, which is one part of space we've actually set foot on.
So naturally, it might come as a surprise to learn the Pragyan rover, delivered by India's Chandrayaan-3 Vikram lander, recorded something moving on the lunar South Pole.
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The lander was the first craft ever to land on the lunar south pole when it arrived in August 2023, traveling with an Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) which helped in its task of detecting things happening on and below the surface of the moon.
In a statement, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) explained: "ILSA comprises a cluster of six high-sensitivity accelerometers, which are indigenously fabricated using the Silicon Micromachining process. The core sensing element consists of a spring-mass system with comb-structured electrodes.
"External vibrations lead to a deflection of the spring, resulting in a change in capacitance which is converted into voltage.
From Earth, the moon might look like a calm, motionless mass with really not a lot going on. But in its press release shared on August 31, 2023, the ISRO shared updates of the recordings made by the ILSA in the proceeding days and proved that is very much not the case.
The device recorded a series of vibrations on August 25, which were depicted in a graph shared by the ISRO, as well as an additional 'event' recorded the following day.
The ISRO said the event was 'seemingly natural', but it formed a point of interest for the organization as it added: "The source of this event is currently under investigation."
At this point, it would be natural to jump to the conclusion that there's definitely some aliens hiding beneath the moon's surface, running around in underground caves and causing the vibrations caught by the ILSA.
However, taking into account ILSA's primary objective, that theory becomes less likely.
The instrument is intended to measure ground vibrations generated by natural quakes, impacts, and artificial events - so, unfortunately, it's more likely the movement was caused by a natural shift taking place on the moon.
Still, for something that seems so still and silent, it's an interesting find!