Soil at Chandrayaan-3 Shiv Shakti Point chemically close to lunar meteorite that hit Antarctica

📌 Summary:

• Chandrayaan-3 data shows the soil at Shiv Shakti Point (landing site near the Moon's South Pole) is chemically closest to lunar meteorite ALHA 81005, found in Antarctica's Allan Hills in 1982
• The PRL-led study (published in Nature) found the soil iron- and magnesium-rich and aluminium-deficient, occupying a compositional space between ferroan anorthosite and Mg-suite lunar rock types
• Data came from the APXS (Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer) aboard the Pragyaan rover, which landed in August 2023
• The Antarctic meteorite has ~25.8% aluminium oxide and ~13.7% iron-magnesium oxides, an almost exact match; the site's composition hints at contributions from deeper layers, possibly linked to the nearby South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 — Space science and indigenous achievements; understanding lunar surface evolution and India's planetary research capability

📝 Prelims Facts:

• Lead institution: Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad; lead author Dwijesh Ray; published in Nature
• Instrument: APXS on the Pragyaan rover; lunar meteorite reference: ALHA 81005 (Antarctica, 1982)
• Lunar rock types referenced: ferroan anorthosite, Mg-suite

🔑 Key Term: Regolith — the loose surface layer of broken rock and dust on the Moon, shaped by repeated meteorite impacts