The Indian discovery robot confirmed the presence of sulfur at the moon’s south pole, the Asian country’s space agency announced.
Last week, India became the first country to land a spacecraft near the south pole of the moon and the fourth country to make a landing.
“The Laser Induced Decomposition Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument on board the Chandrayaan-3 rover has made the first in-situ measurements of the composition of lunar surface elements near the South Pole,” the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said in a statement. a press release. rack.
“The ‘in-situ’ measurements unequivocally confirm the presence of sulfur in the region, something that was not achievable with the instruments on board the orbiters,” the note adds.
Spectrographic analysis also confirmed the presence of aluminum, calcium, iron, chromium and titanium on the lunar surface, according to ISRO. Other measurements showed the presence of manganese, silicon and oxygen.
The robot Pragyan (wisdom in Sanskrit), with six wheels and powered by solar energy, will travel around the South Pole for two weeks, broadcasting images and scientific data.
India is working to achieve the results of other space programs at a fraction of the cost, despite some setbacks.
Four years ago, another Indian lunar mission failed on its final descent.
The Chandrayaan-3 mission has captured the nation’s public opinion since its launch nearly six weeks ago. The landing on the south pole of the moon took place last week, a few days after an accident involving a Russian spacecraft in the same region.
In 2014, India became the first Asian country to orbit Mars and hopes to launch a probe to study the sun in September.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) plans to launch a three-day manned mission into orbit next year.
India is also slated for a joint mission with Japan to send another probe to the moon by 2025, and an orbital mission to Venus in the next two years.
Source: DN
