India landed on the Moon only last week, but the Chandrayaan-3 mission has already made its first scientific observations at the Moon's south pole.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that the onboard rover has confirmed the presence of sulphur by firing laser shots on the surface.

This is the first rover to explore the region.

"The Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument on board the Chandrayaan-3 Rover has made in situ measurements for the first time on the elemental composition of the lunar surface near the south pole," ISRO said in a statement.

"These in situ measurements definitively confirm the presence of Sulfur (S) in the region, which was not possible with the instruments on the orbiters."

Preliminary analyses also indicate the presence of aluminium, iron, calcium, chromium and titanium. "Further measurements revealed the presence of manganese (Mn), silicon (Si) and oxygen (O)," ISRO added.

"Extensive investigations into the presence of hydrogen are ongoing."

Although China, Russia and the United States have set foot on the Moon, previous attempts by Russia and India to reach the south pole have failed.

The south pole is thought to be the Moon's most water-rich region, and the Chandrayaan-3 rover, known as Pragyan, will spend the next two weeks using its laser to search for traces of frozen water, study the atmosphere and find out the composition of the south pole.

If frozen water is found on the lunar surface, it could be extremely valuable as it could one day be used to produce breathable oxygen for future lunar bases and provide material for rocket fuel that could help send missions to Mars.

The name Pragyan is derived from the Hindu word pragya, which means the highest and purest state of wisdom, intelligence and understanding.

The little rover weighs only 57 pounds (25.8 kg) and is roughly the size of a small German shepherd dog. It is equipped with a laser-based LIBS instrument as well as an alpha particle beam.

LIBS can detect elements by firing intense lasers at the lunar surface and creating a hot plasma. By analysing the light from this plasma, researchers can determine the wavelengths of different particles in a particular part of the Moon.

 

Source: https://www.sciencealert.com/