The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Tuesday said the Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) instrument onboard Chandrayaan-3’s Pragyan rover, which landed on the moon on August 23, has made the first-ever in-situ measurements on the elemental composition of the lunar surface near the south pole and “unambiguously confirmed the presence of sulphur”.
The preliminary analyses by the Indian space agency also said the instrument detected Aluminum (Al), Sulphur (S), Calcium (Ca), Iron (Fe), Chromium (Cr), and Titanium (Ti), as expected. Further measurements have also revealed the presence of manganese (Mn), silicon (Si), and oxygen (O). Investigation regarding the presence of Hydrogen is currently underway.
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.… pic.twitter.com/vDQmByWcSL
— ISRO (@isro) August 29, 2023
The LIBS instrument has been developed at the Laboratory for Electro-Optics Systems (LEOS) in ISRO, Bengaluru and is a scientific technique that analyzes the composition of materials by exposing them to intense laser pulses.
The national space agency said that a high-energy laser pulse is focused onto the surface of a material, such as a rock or soil. The laser pulse generates an extremely hot and localized plasma. “The collected plasma light is spectrally resolved and detected by detectors such as Charge Coupled Devices. Since each element emits a characteristic set of wavelengths of light when it’s in a plasma state, the elemental composition of the material is determined”, ISRO added.
The Pragyan rover on Monday had encountered a four-metre diameter crater just ahead of its location on the moon’s surface. It was then commanded to retrace its path.
Chandrayaan-3 Mission:On August 27, 2023, the Rover came across a 4-meter diameter crater positioned 3 meters ahead of its location. The Rover was commanded to retrace the path.
It's now safely heading on a new path.#Chandrayaan_3#Ch3 pic.twitter.com/QfOmqDYvSF
— ISRO (@isro) August 28, 2023
ISRO had shared on X that the rover was commanded to retrace the path. This happened after the Indian space agency had released their first observation from Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE) payload on board the ‘Vikram lander’.
The measurement of the temperature profile of the lunar topsoil around the pole to understand the thermal behaviour of the Moon’s surface is conducted by the ChaSTE (Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment).
(with inputs from PTI)
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