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There were indications on September 22, 2009 that India’s maiden Moon mission Chandrayaan-1 found water on the lunar surface before the project was aborted. An announcement about a ‘‘major discovery’’ made by Chandrayaan-I is expected on September 24, and the buzz is that this could be about water on the Moon.

If true, credit for this much-awaited discovery, however, could go to Nasa’s Moon Minerology Mapper (M3), one of the payloads on board Chandrayaan. The Rs 386-crore craft was launched on October 22 last year and terminated on August 30 following a communication failure. One of the mission’s main goals was to sniff for water.

For now, neither Isro nor Nasa is speaking about the discovery. An announcement is expected at a media interaction scheduled for September 22 at the Nasa headquarters in Washington DC featuring well-known lunar scientist Carle Pieters from Brown University. She is the principal investigator for M3.

Exciting Prospect
November 96: Results from Clementine, a joint project of the Strategic Defence Initiative and Nasa suggest presence of water near the Moon’s south pole
March 98: Data from Nasa’s Lunar Prospector indicates that water ice may be present at both north and south poles. Estimated 6 bn tonnes buried under about 18 inches of soil
July 99: Controlled crash of Lunar Prospector into crater near the Moon’s south pole fails to yield any evidence of water, leaving the question open ‘Giant leap for India’s space programme’

A spokesman for Brown University also declined comment, saying there was an embargo. ‘‘It will be a major announcement of a major discovery and is something great for Chandrayaan. It will mark a major leap for India’s space programme,’’ he said. An Isro official at Sriharikota also confirmed that a major announcement was expected on Thursday. ‘‘I too have heard something to that effect. Nothing more,’’ he said.

If the discovery of water proves true, then it could trigger another round of Moon missions, and start serious hunt for life in outer space. India has not ruled out the possibility of a manned lunar flight.