Chandrayaan-3: Pragyaan detects the presence of Sulphur on the Moon; other elements are also found

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Sulphur, Oxygen, Aluminium & more: Check what Chandrayaan-3’s Pragyan Rover found on Moon

ISRO tweeted an observational graph that showed how the lunar surface's temperature changed at different depths as the probe descended through the moon's surface.

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August 30, 2023 10:47 IST
Sulphur, Oxygen, Aluminium & more: Check what Chandrayaan-3’s Pragyan Rover found on Moon
Sulphur, Oxygen, Aluminium & more: Check what Chandrayaan-3’s Pragyan Rover found on Moon

New Delhi: On Tuesday, August 29, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) announced that the Pragyan rover’s Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope had made the first direct observations of sulphur on the lunar surface near the south pole.

ISRO reports that the Chandrayaan-3 rover, Pragyan, has found Oxygen and other elements on the moon, and the search for Hydrogen has begun.

Till now, Aluminium, Calcium, Ferrum, Chromium, Titanium, Manganese, Silicon, and Oxygen were also found by the spectroscope, according to ISRO.

In a post on Twitter, ISRO said, ” Chandrayaan-3 Mission:

In-situ scientific experiments continue …..

Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) instrument onboard the Rover unambiguously confirms the presence of Sulphur (S) in the lunar surface near the south pole, through first-ever in-situ measurements.

Al, Ca, Fe, Cr, Ti, Mn, Si, and O are also detected, as expected. Search for Hydrogen (H) is underway.

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

These new findings follow a temperature profile taken by Chandrayaan-3 in the south pole of the Moon. ISRO tweeted an observational graph that showed how the lunar surface’s temperature changed at different depths as the probe descended through the moon’s surface.

The graph shows that the lunar surface cools down as one descends towards the lunar interior.

After the Indian space agency announced that the Pragyan rover was on its journey to the moon, these new discoveries have emerged.

The Chandrayaan-3 lander successfully touched down on the moon’s south pole on August 23, and hours later, the rover was lowered from the ‘Vikram’ lander.

ISRO shared a video on Twitter on August 26 showing the rover exploring the area surrounding the Chandrayaan-3 landing site at ‘Shiv Shakti’ Point.

The Rover discovered a crater three metres in front of its location, measuring four metres in diameter, on August 27, 2023. ISRO said that the Rover’s instructions included returning along the same route.

The mission is expected to endure another week when the solar-powered Pragyan rover and Vikram lander carry out an array of scientific experiments.

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