Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter: ISRO seeks proposals for scientific analysis of data of Orbiter

Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter: The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has released an ‘Announcement of Opportunity’ (AO) to seek proposals towards scientific analysis and utilization of payloads data from all experiments of the Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter. The AO is open to the Indian scientific community comprising researchers from recognized universities, institutions, colleges, and government organizations across the country. In the past, valuable scientific data from all experiments of Chandrayaan-1 was extensively utilized by Indian researchers for lunar science studies. The payload data from Chandrayaan-2 are being made available to the public and scientific proposals are invited for the same.

The Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter is currently placed in a 100 km x 100 km circular polar orbit around the Moon. The orbiter is carrying out experiments using its 8 state-of-the-art scientific instruments for providing data for studies including the composition of the Moon to exospheric measurements to surface geology.

What is Announcement of Opportunity (AO)?

The 'Announcement of Opportunity' (AO) has been issued by the Indian Space Organization (ISRO) to seek proposals towards scientific analysis and utilization of payloads data from all experiments of the Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter.

The payloads data from the Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter were released to the public for scientific analysis on December 24, 2020. The next sets of payloads data were released in July 2021. These data sets are available in the public domain on the PRADAN portal of the Indian Space Science Data Centre (ISSDC) of ISRO.

Who can submit proposal under AO?

The AO is open to the Indian scientific community comprising researchers from recognized universities, institutions, colleges, and government organizations across the country. Only those with a minimum remaining service of 4 years before superannuation are eligible to lead the project.

What is the project duration of the project?

The project is expected to be completed within 3 years. The project leads will be required to publish the results in a science workshop and scientific studies across national or international peer-reviewed journals.

What assistance will be offered to selected proposals?

The ISRO in its official release stated that limited financial assistance including salary of a research student, computational facility, contingencies, and limited support to attend project meetings and workshops will be provided to the selected proposals through the AO.

Chandrayaan-2 Mission: Background 

The Chandrayaan-2 mission is the second lunar mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in a bid to explore the South Pole of the Moon. The Orbiter was successfully launched on July 22, 2019, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh.

The Orbiter was placed in a 100 km lunar polar orbit on August 20, 2019. On September 2, 2019, the Vikram Lander separated from the Orbiter to descent on the Moon surface. However, the lander crashed while attempting to land.

The Chandryaan-2 Orbiter, however, continues to move in a 100 km x 100 km circular polar orbit around the Moon sending payloads data through remote-sensing observations from a 100-km orbit.

The orbiter is carrying out experiments using its 8 state-of-the-art scientific instruments for providing data for studies including Moon’s evolution and composition, mapping of water molecules and minerals in the Polar region to exospheric measurements to surface geology.

Also read: India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission to be launched during third quarter of 2022: Govt