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A fiery CME from the Sun slammed into the Moon—and Chandrayaan-2 caught it live. For the first time, scientists witnessed a spike in the lunar exosphere’s pressure, triggered by a solar storm’s raw force.
Source: Isro
CHACE-2’s data reveals what textbooks only theorized: solar eruptions don’t just light up Earth’s skies—they shake the Moon’s surface gases too. The event blew apart long-held beliefs on lunar stability.
One solar storm, one massive ripple—CHACE-2 recorded over a tenfold jump in lunar gas density. The Moon’s fragile exosphere proved more reactive—and more volatile—than scientists previously imagined.
Source: Isro
Without an atmosphere or magnetic shield, the Moon took the solar hit full-on. The May 10 CME didn't just scorch—it stirred atoms off the surface, exposing how unfiltered space truly behaves.
Forget wind and rain—the Moon’s “weather” comes from solar fury. This CME event showed how space weather violently reshapes the Moon’s ultra-thin exosphere in seconds, not millennia.
CHACE-2’s sensors traced a unique chemical trail left by the CME impact—giving scientists rare insight into how the Sun’s material mixes with the lunar surface in a cosmic chemical cocktail.
This unexpected exosphere surge raises flags for future lunar missions. Engineers now must design lunar habitats that can endure space storms capable of temporarily transforming the Moon’s environment.
India’s Chandrayaan-2 just entered the history books—not for landing, but for detecting something no mission has before: the Moon’s exosphere dancing to the Sun’s violent rhythm.
The CME’s brutal impact gave hard proof to long-held theories. What was once a cosmic “what if” is now measurable science—thanks to an Indian orbiter quietly orbiting 384,400 km from Earth.