After Isro’s historic Moon Mission, Chandrayaan 3 has already made several noteworthy advancements in its work and confirmed the existence of silicon, iron, calcium, titanium, manganese, aluminum, sulfur, and other elements on the lunar surface close to the south pole. Isro has made a chart available that shows the occurrence of these elements at different wavelength ranges.
The space probe had already announced its mission to “uncover the secrets of the Moon” in a message to “earthlings” on the internet.
“Me and my friend Vikram Lander are in touch. We’re in good health. The best is coming soon,” the Pragyan Rover had earlier tweeted via ISRO InSight.
The presence of sulfur on the lunar surface close to the south pole has been “unambiguously confirmed” by the Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope instrument onboard Chandrayaan-3’s “Pragyan” rover.
“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 (Aluminum), 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,” ISRO posted on X.
“Preliminary analysis… 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,” it said.
The Pragyan Rover discovered a 4-meter-diameter crater on the lunar surface around 3 meters ahead of its position, according to information released by ISRO on Monday. It was then instructed to turn around and go a new, safer route.
According to scientists, the rover is currently engaged in a “race against time” as ISRO works to have the six-wheeled vehicle travel as far as possible across the unexplored South pole. Two of the goals of the moon mission have already been accomplished: a gentle landing on the moon’s surface and mobility of the Pragyan rover. Through attached payloads, the lander and rover continue to collect scientific data.
“We have only 14 days in total for this mission, which is equal to one day on the moon, so four days have been completed. The more experiments and research we can do in the remaining ten days will be important. We are in a race against time because in these 10 days, we have to do maximum work and all the ISRO scientists are working on it,” Nilesh M Desai, Director, Space Applications Centre, told ANI on Sunday.
With the arrival of Chandrayaan-3 last week, India became the first nation to set foot on the south pole of the moon. In addition, it is the fourth nation – after the United States, China, and Russia – to have accomplished a successful lunar landing.
