India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission has delivered a groundbreaking scientific revelation from the Moon’s southern high-latitude region. The Pragyan rover’s Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) detected unusually low levels of sodium and potassium, but significantly elevated sulfur concentrations in lunar soil at Shiv Shakti Point—offering fresh insights into the Moon’s deep interior and its early volatile history.
Contrasting Previous Lunar Findings
This geochemical signature sharply contrasts with data from previous missions like Apollo (USA), Luna (USSR), and Chang’e (China), which focused on the Procellarum KREEP Terrane (PKT). The Shiv Shakti Point lies outside this PKT region, marking the first volatile element analysis from a non-PKT zone and expanding the understanding of the Moon’s compositional diversity.
Uncovering the Ancient Lunar Mantle
According to the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad, the elevated sulfur cannot be explained by surface phenomena such as meteoritic deposition or condensation, especially given the region’s extreme daytime heat. Instead, scientists believe the composition was shaped by the South Pole–Aitken (SPA) basin impact, which occurred around 4.3 billion years ago.
This colossal impact is thought to have excavated materials from the Moon’s primitive mantle, long before the formation of the potassium/phosphorus/rare-earth-element-rich KREEP layer that dominates other explored regions.
Evidence for Lunar Magma Ocean Theory
The APXS data supports the lunar magma ocean hypothesis, which proposes that the Moon’s outer crust solidified from a vast, molten body. Shiv Shakti Point’s soil appears to contain a blend of ferroan anorthosite from the upper crust and Mg-suite rocks from the mantle, providing a rare window into the Moon’s early crustal development.
Implications for Future Exploration
This discovery not only enhances our understanding of lunar formation but also suggests sulfur could be a valuable resource for future Moon bases. Chandrayaan-3 underscores India’s growing scientific clout in space exploration, offering critical data that could shape the next phase of human presence on the Moon.
