Moon-bound

The moon is more than Earth's natural satellite, having impacted its every aspect, from origin of life to climate change

- ROHINI KRISHNAMURTHY

EVEN THOUGH the primary objective of such missions might not be looking into the origin of life, it could find something that is very important," says Jonti Horner, professor of astrophysics at US' University of Southern Queensland, referring to Chandrayaan-3. On July 14, the Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launched India's third trip to the moon (see 'Explorers of the moon', p20). The spacecraft seeks to land a rover in August and study seismicity and thermal properties of the lunar surface.

Since the 1960s, when Earth's fascination with its nearest celestial neighbour was at its peak, countries have launched over 110 missions to study the moon. The attempts have tremendously improved our understanding of not just the moon but also Earth, as well as origin and evolution of life. Evidence suggests the moon had a critical part in seeding and shaping life, and it still does. "It has definitely had an impact on Earth. Our planet would have looked very different without it. We may have had different organisms with different behaviour, and maybe, humans would not have existed," David Waltham, professor of geophysics at Royal Holloway, University of London, tells Down To Earth (DTE).

LIFE LINKED TO TIDES