ISRO says Pragyan rover confirmed presence of Sulphur. Why is it so significant?

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said the Pragyan rover's Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope confirmed the presence of sulphur in the lunar surface near the south pole, through the first-ever in-sity measurements.

ISRO said the rover's spectroscope also detected Aluminium, Calcium, Ferrous (Iron), Chromium, Titanium, Manganese, Silicon and Oxygen as expected. The search for hydrogen is underway.

“Preliminary analyses, graphically represented, have unveiled the presence of Aluminum (Al), Sulphur (S), Calcium (Ca), Iron (Fe), Chromium (Cr), and Titanium (Ti) on the lunar surface. Further measurements have revealed the presence of manganese (Mn), silicon (Si), and oxygen (O). Thorough investigation regarding the presence of Hydrogen is underway”, ISRO said in its statement.

“LIBS instrument is developed at the Laboratory for Electro-Optics Systems (LEOS)/ISRO, Bengaluru”, ISRO added.

What is LIBS?

The Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope has been developed at ISRO's Laboratory for Electro-Optics Systems (LEOS) in Bengaluru. This payload made it possible for the scientists to measure sulphur on lunar site.

According to ISRO, this method can provide elemental composition of samples, regardless of their physical state. For LIBS technology, laser is a fundamental tool, which produces induced plasma from which information on the material composition through its atomic emission spectrum is obtained. Here, remote or close-range analysis is possible by this technique since the focused laser spot can be directed to a target at a considerable distance from the rover to produce the excited plasma.

Why is the presence of sulphur on moon so significant?

According to reports, the presence of sulphur on the moon is crucial for future lunar missions. Since sulphur originates from volcanic activities, its presence can tell us a lot about the moon's history and constituents.

As mentioned earlier, the Pragyan rover is continuously searching for hydrogen on the lunar surface.

Pragyan rover encountered a crater. What happened next?

The developments come after the Indian space agency said the Pragyan rover was “on way to uncover more secrets” of the moon. The rover was ramped out of the ‘Vikram' lander hours after the Chandrayaan 3's successful landing on the moon's south pole on August 23.

On August 26, ISRO had released a video of the rover roaming around the ‘Shiv Shakti’ Point, the landing point of the Chandrayaan 3. ““Chandrayaan-3 Mission: 🔍What's new here? Pragyan rover roams around Shiv Shakti Point in pursuit of lunar secrets at the South Pole 🌗”! ISRO had posted on X.

Yesterday, the space agency said that the Pragyan rover came across a four-metre diameter crater positioned 3 meters ahead of its location on the lunar surface yesterday.

“On August 27, 2023, the Rover came across a 4-meter diameter crater positioned 3 meters ahead of its location. The Rover was commanded to retrace the path. It's now safely heading on a new path”, ISRO had said.

India achieved history on August 23 by becoming the first country to touch down on the moon's South Pole.