India’s moon rover, Pragyan of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, has confirmed the presence of sulphur on the lunar south pole, according to the Indian space agency.
“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 on Monday.
According to Al-Jazeera, spectrographic analysis has also confirmed the presence of aluminium, calcium, iron, chromium and titanium on the lunar surface, ISRO added, with additional measurements showing the presence of manganese, silicon and oxygen.
Pragyan, literally meaning wisdom in Sanskrit, will saunter the south pole and provide images and scientific data during its two-week lifespan, looking for signs of frozen water that could aid future missions as a potential source of drinking water for astronauts or to make rocket fuel.
ISRO chairman S Somanath stated that the rover will also study the moon’s atmosphere and seismic activity.
