The lunar rover of India has officially verified the existence of sulphur on the southern pole of the Moon, as stated by the national space agency.
India achieved a significant milestone last week by successfully landing a spacecraft in close proximity to the predominantly uncharted southern region of the Moon. This accomplishment solidifies India’s position as the pioneering nation to accomplish such a feat, making it only the fourth country in the world to achieve a lunar landing.
“The Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument onboard Chandrayaan-3 Rover has made the first-ever in-situ measurements on the elemental composition of the lunar surface near the south pole,” the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a statement dated Monday.
“These in-situ measurements confirm the presence of sulphur in the region unambiguously, something that was not feasible by the instruments onboard the orbiters,” it said.
According to the Indian Space Research Organisation , the spectrographic study conducted on the lunar surface has substantiated the existence of aluminium, calcium, iron, chromium, and titanium. Furthermore, supplementary tests have indicated the presence of manganese, silicon, and oxygen.
The Pragyan rover, a solar-powered vehicle equipped with six wheels, will traverse the unexplored region of the south pole, gathering and transmitting scientific data and photos throughout its operational period of two weeks. The rover’s name, Pragyan, originates from the Sanskrit language and translates to “Wisdom.”
India has consistently demonstrated a capacity to attain comparable milestones in space exploration, while incurring significantly lower costs, albeit occasional hiccups.
