Syllabus: Space technology
- Pragyan rover has confirmed the presence of sulphur on the moon’s surface, near its south pole.
- The Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument aboard the rover has made the first-ever in-situ measurements on the elemental composition of the lunar surface near the south pole.
- The LIBS is a scientific technique that analyses the composition of materials by exposing them to intense laser pulses.
- Preliminary analyses 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).
- It is still searching for hydrogen.