Pragyan is taking a nap. What did the rover find?

livemint.com:

Mint explains: On 28 August, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) confirmed that the Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument on the Pragyan rover has discovered the presence of aluminium, sulphur, calcium, iron, chromium, titanium, manganese, silicon and oxygen on the moon. The Vikram lander also recorded a ‘moonquake’ on the lunar surface on 26 August, and found a super-thin layer of plasma in the lunar atmosphere—thereby suggesting that the moon’s atmospheric characteristics, and the way objects there would react to solar flares, are very different from what we see on the earth. Finding sulphur on the moon, as this can help us understand the origins of the moon, as well as its past surface conditions.

Scientists say the presence of significant amounts of sulphur will help us understand volcanic activity on the moon, which in turn could point toward subterranean lunar water. Some believe sulphur could indicate if the moon may have supported life in the past. It could also come in handy for making bricks—key to a future human base there.

Sulphur can also be potentially trapped in water ice, suggesting that following its traces may lead us to a potentially monumental moon water discovery. Hard to say at this point. We need to study the moon’s elemental composition to understand where the water could be.

Pragyan’s findings can be crucial in this regard. In particular, the discovery of sulphur and oxygen on the moon’s surface is extremely critical in moving toward such a discovery. Isro was also working toward finding hydrogen.