The Chandrayaan-3 rover detected sulphur and several other elements near the south pole of the moon, the Indian Space Research Organisation said on Tuesday.
Sulphur is known to originate in volcanic activities. Presence of the element on moon can provide more insights into the formation and evolution of the earth’s natural satellite.
“These in-situ [on site] measurements confirm the presence of Sulphur [element symbol S] in the region unambiguously, something that was not feasible by the instruments onboard the orbiters,” the space agency said.
The Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy instrument installed in the rover also detected aluminum, iron, calcium, chromium, titanium, manganese, oxygen and silicon on the lunar surface.
The instrument on the rover used a scientific technique to analyse the composition of materials by exposing them to intense laser pulses, ISRO said. A high-energy laser pulse is focused onto the surface of a material, such as a rock or soil which generates an extremely hot and localised plasma.
“The collected plasma light is spectrally resolved and detected by detectors such as Charge Coupled Devices,” the space agency said. “Since each element emits a characteristic set of wavelengths of light when it’s in a plasma state, the elemental composition of the material is determined.”
Elements have been previously found on moon and the current detection adds data to the existing knowledge.
After a successful landing on the moon’s unchartered territory last week, the Pragyan rover had come down the ramp from the lander to begin data collection. The rover will also search for signs of frozen water that could help astronaut missions in future. The equipment on the spacecraft will also study moon’s atmosphere and seismic activity.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Centre said that ISRO will launch its first Sun Mission, Aditya-L1, most likely on September 2.
The Aditya-L1 shall use the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle with seven payloads or instruments on board, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said.
The spacecraft will be based in a halo orbit around Lagrange point-1 of the Sun-Earth system, which is about 1.5 million kilometre from the earth, while a satellite placed in the halo orbit will provide an advantage in observing the solar activities and its effect on space weather in real time.
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