Facts for Prelims (FFP)
Source: TH
Context: India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission’s Pragyan rover has confirmed the existence of sulphur on the moon’s surface near the south pole.
- This discovery was enabled by the Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument onboard the rover, marking the first in-situ measurements of the lunar surface’s elemental composition in this region.
- The LIBS technique involves using intense laser pulses to analyse materials, creating hot and localized plasma whose emitted light is then studied to determine the material’s elemental composition.
- The analysis has also revealed the presence of elements like aluminium, calcium, iron, chromium, titanium, manganese, silicon, and oxygen on the lunar surface. T
The Pragyan rover is still actively searching for the presence of hydrogen.
