["Dhanya, M. B","Yadav, Chemukula Mathin","Thampi, Smitha V","Das, Tirtha Pratim","Thampi, R. Satheesh","Bhardwaj, Anil"]2025-07-30期刊论文
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The Moon encountered an extreme space weather event (NOAA G5 class) on 10 May 2024, caused by a series of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Chandra's Atmospheric Composition Explorer-2 (CHACE-2), a neutral gas mass spectrometer on board Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, made in situ observations of the lunar exosphere during this period. Observations show an increase in total pressure around the arrival time of the CME impact on the Moon. The corresponding total number densities derived from these observations show an enhancement in the total number densities by more than an order of magnitude. The increase in lunar exospheric number densities by a factor > 10, due to the solar wind ion sputter process, is consistent with earlier theoretical modeling. This is the first observational confirmation of the enhancement in lunar exospheric densities during a CME impact.
