On Tuesday, August 29, the ISRO announced that Chandrayaan-3’s Pragyan Rover has found Sulphur on the south-pole region of the Moon. This discovery on the lunar surface was made using the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer of the rover. The presence of Sulphur on the south-pole of the Moon, which is a relatively rare element on the natural satellite of planet Earth, is significant because it could be a sign of the presence of water ice.
Water ice is believed to be trapped in the permanently shadowed craters of the south-pole region.
ISRO posted on X, ‘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 (Aluminium), Ca (Calcium), Fe (Iron), Cr (Chromium), Ti (Titanium), Mn (Manganese), Si (Silicon), and O (Oxygen), are also detected as expected. Search for Hydrogen (H) is underway.’
