Primitive lunar mantle materials at the Chandrayaan-3 landing site

Sodium (Na), potassium (K), and sulfur (S) abundances are key to understanding the Moon’s geochemistry and volatile inventory. Here we conduct an assessment comparing the Pragyan rover’s Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) measured abundances of these elements at the Chandrayaan-3 southern high-latitude highland site with their abundances from previous missions. The Chandrayaan-3 landing site exhibits anomalous depletion in sodium and potassium but enrichment in sulfur compared to other highland sites. The reduced sodium and potassium abundances suggest inadequate crystallization of materials enriched in these elements within the source region of the ancient South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin, which excavated materials from the lunar interior and deposited it at the Chandrayaan-3 landing site. The sulfur enrichment at the landing site likely indicates the presence of sulfur-rich materials originating from the Moon’s primitive mantle. This inference aligns with the timing of the SPA basin formation and the lunar magma ocean (LMO) crystallization stages. A comparison of elemental abundance data from Chandrayaan-3 regolith relative to previous missions, suggests anomalous depletion in Na and K but enrichment in S which may indicate primitive mantle material excavated from the South Pole-Aitken basin