Pragyan rover finds more signs of sulphur on Moon, Isro to look for its source

India's moon rover Pragyan has confirmed the presence of sulphur and other elements at the lunar south pole, this time by another technique. The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) announced the breakthrough as part of its ongoing Chandrayaan-3 mission.

The Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) instrument aboard Pragyan was instrumental in confirming the presence of sulphur. This marked the first-ever in-situ measurements of the elemental composition of the lunar surface near the south pole. The LIBS instrument's findings were further corroborated by another onboard instrument, the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectroscope (APXS), which also detected sulphur along with other minor elements.

Taking to microblogging site X (formerly Twitter), Isro wrote, “Another instrument onboard the Rover confirms the presence of Sulphur (S) in the region, through another technique. The Alpha Particle X-ray Spectroscope (APXS) has detected S, as well as other minor elements. This finding by Ch-3 compels scientists to develop fresh explanations for the source of Sulphur (S) in the area: intrinsic?, volcanic?, meteoritic?,......?.”

Isro also shared a video of the Chandrayaan-3 rover and wrote, "The video shows an automated hinge mechanism rotating the 18 cm tall APXS, aligning the detector head to be approximately 5 cm in proximity to the lunar surface. PRL, Ahmedabad has developed APXS with support from PRL, Ahmedabad. URSC, Bengaluru has developed the deployment mechanism."

These findings have sparked intrigue among scientists who are now tasked with developing fresh theories to explain the source of sulphur in the region. The possibilities range from it being intrinsic to the moon's composition, volcanic activity, or even meteoritic impact.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission, which successfully landed on the moon on August 23, 2023, has been conducting various experiments to better understand the lunar south pole. The mission has already made history as India became the fourth nation to land on the moon and the first to reach its south pole. The Pragyan rover and Vikram Lander have been investigating the region since their touchdown, making groundbreaking discoveries that will significantly contribute to our understanding of the moon's origin and evolution.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the Chandrayaan-3 mission on July 14, 2023. The spacecraft entered lunar orbit on August 5, and the Vikram lander, carrying the Pragyan rover, touched down on the lunar south pole region on August 23, 2023. With this, India became the fourth country to successfully land on the Moon and the first to do so near the lunar south pole.