Indian robot confirms the presence of sulfur near the south pole of the moon

“The laser-induced plasma spectrometer instrument on board the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft has made its first measurements of the elemental composition of the lunar surface near the south pole,” the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said in a statement dated Monday. “These in situ measurements unequivocally confirm the presence of sulfur in the area, which was not possible using instruments on board the satellites,” the press release adds.

They also confirmed the presence of aluminium, calcium, iron, chromium and titanium on the moon’s surface, according to ISRO. Other measurements also showed the presence of manganese, silicon and oxygen.

Two weeks into the assignment

The six-wheeled mobile robot, Pragyan (“wisdom” in Sanskrit), will survey this yet-to-be-mapped area, transmitting images and scientific data during the two-week mission.

On August 23, India became the first country to land a spacecraft near the moon’s unexplored south pole, joining a select group of countries that have successfully carried out a controlled landing on the moon’s surface. Before India, only the United States, the Soviet Union and China were able to successfully carry out such an operation.

A few days before the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft landed on the moon’s south pole, the Russian Luna-25 probe crashed in the same area.