The revelation from India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission that its Vikram lander detected what could be seismic activity is far from a trivial scientific footnote. In fact, it adds a new layer of perplexity to our understanding—or lack thereof—of the Moon. This raises questions that are unavoidable and unsettling. What really is going on up there, and could the Moon be harboring secrets that defy our current scientific paradigms?
The seismic activity was detected on August 26, 2023, by the Vikram lander’s Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA). But why now? Decades have passed since humanity first set foot on the Moon through the Apollo program, and yet, this is the first data of its kind since the 1970s. It’s like someone just turned up the volume on the Moon’s rumblings, and we’re only just now tuning in.
The Vikram lander and its accompanying Pragyan rover aren’t mere duplications of past lunar missions; they signify a new era of exploration, employing state-of-the-art Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology. They have already made significant contributions, not just detecting possible seismic activity, but also revealing elements at the Moon’s south pole. Currently, both are in hibernation due to the 14-day lunar night, set to awaken on September 22. And it’s not just scientists who are awaiting their return to activity; it’s anyone who senses that the Moon may be more than it appears.
Let’s be blunt: The Moon is odd. The longstanding enigma of the Moon includes perplexities such as why all the craters appear to be of similar depth or why ancient texts document a time when there was no moon at all. Furthermore, the testimony of astronauts, who are regarded as some of the most disciplined and mentally rigorous individuals, recounting unexplained phenomena during their missions adds gravitas to these concerns.
Why did it take so long to detect seismic activity? Have previous missions been too limited in scope or were they looking in the wrong places? Or have we, perhaps, been told a story that’s far simpler than the complex reality the Moon seems to represent? We should be asking whether the Moon is merely a desolate rock orbiting Earth, or a celestial body with its own set of mysteries that might even suggest independent activity—dare we entertain the possibility, otherworldly occurrences.
There’s something undeniably unsettling about a widely studied celestial body suddenly revealing new behavior. It’s as if the Moon is not just a passive player in the cosmos but an active entity with its will or, at the very least, a repository of phenomena that we are yet to comprehend.
The resumption of the Chandrayaan-3 mission this September will, no doubt, be closely watched by scientists and space enthusiasts alike. But even as we hope for clear-cut answers, we might do well to prepare for the likelihood that the Moon will continue to confound and mystify us. As we wade deeper into this century, our celestial neighbor seems less like a solved equation and more like a riddle that grows increasingly complex the more we learn about it.
Chandrayaan-3 Mission Tweets:
Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
In-situ Scientific ExperimentsRadio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive Ionosphere and Atmosphere – Langmuir Probe (RAMBHA-LP) payload onboard Chandrayaan-3 Lander has made first-ever measurements of the near-surface Lunar plasma environment over the… pic.twitter.com/n8ifIEr83h
— ISRO (@isro) August 31, 2023
