New Delhi: India’s Moon rover has confirmed the presence of sulphur at the moon’s south pole, the Indian space agency said.
Last week, India became the first country to land a craft near the largely unexplored South Pole and only the fourth country to land on the moon.
“The Laser Induced Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument on board the Chandrayaan-3 Rover has made the first-ever in-situ measurement of the elemental composition of the lunar surface near the South Pole,” the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said. Monday’s statement.
“These in-situ measurements unequivocally confirm the presence of sulphur in the region, something that was not possible with instruments on board the orbiters,” it said.
Spectrographic analysis also confirmed the presence of aluminium, calcium, iron, chromium and titanium on the lunar surface, ISRO added, while further measurements showed the presence of manganese, silicon and oxygen.
The six-wheeled solar-powered rover Pragyan – “Wisdom” in Sanskrit – will orbit the relatively uncharted South Pole, transmitting images and scientific data during its two-week lifespan.
India has consistently matched the achievements of other space programs at a fraction of their cost, although it has suffered some setbacks.
Four years ago, India’s previous lunar mission failed on its final descent, which was seen as a huge setback for the program at the time.
Chandrayaan-3 has attracted public attention since its launch nearly six weeks ago in front of thousands of cheering spectators, and its successful landing on the moon last week came just days after a Russian lander crashed in the same area.
In 2014, India became the first Asian nation to send a craft into Mars orbit, and plans to send a probe to the Sun in September.
ISRO is set to launch a three-day manned mission into Earth orbit next year.
It is also planning a joint mission with Japan to send another probe to the moon by 2025 and an orbital mission to Venus within the next two years.
