ISRO Sets Sight On Dying Stars And Exoplanets After A Year Of Successful Missions
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to study exoplanets and dying stars after the resounding success of Chandrayaan-3 mission. ISRO's future missions will attempt to find planets with an atmosphere suitable for habitation outside of our solar system.
ExoWorlds to study exoplanets
"We are conceiving a satellite called ExoWorlds, a mission for looking at exo-solar planets or planets that are outside our solar system and orbiting other stars," said ISRO chairman S Somanath at a lecture at the Indian National Science Academy. "Nearly 5,000 exoplanets have been discovered so far and closer to one hundred may be habitable because of the atmosphere similar to the Earth," he added.
The planned exoplanet mission, once approved by the Union Cabinet, will try to find exoplanets and study them. Exoplanets with an atmosphere emit radiation that makes their signature distinct and therefore special. The ISRO space probe will study the spectral characteristics of such lights to see if they match the signatures generated by Earth.
Also read:?Far-Off Planet's 'Thermometer' Molecule May Aid Exoplanet Temperature Detection
Somanath explained that the Indian probe will analyse the radiation in infra-red, optical, and ultraviolet spectrum. "Such characterisation can tell us what the atmosphere of those livable planets are made of," Somanath said.
The Chandraayan-3 orbiter has a payload that can look for signatures of Earth-like planets. In addition, ISRO is also working on a Mars lander mission while preparing for a Venus mission - the latter still pending approval from the government.
Also read:?Could It Be An Alien World? Movement Of A Star Indicates Signs Of A New Exoplanet
That's not all! ISRO is also set to launch the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XpoSAT) in December to understand the mysteries surrounding dying stars. The XpoSAT mission will launch in December this year and includes a 450 kg satellite carrying two instruments to study the polarisation of bright X-ray pulsars and to understand the defining traits of luminous black hole sources.
What do you think about ISRO's future ambitions? Let us know in the comments below.?For more in the world of?technology?and?science, keep reading?Indiatimes.com.??
