7.11.2024
ISRO set to launch EU’s Proba 3 Sun observation mission in December: Minister
Union minister Jitendra Singh also set out the ambitious goal of establishing the Indian space station Bharatiya Antariksha Station (BAS) by 2035, and landing the first Indian on the Moon by 2040
New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch the European Union’s Proba 3 Sun Observation Mission in December, said Union minister of state (independent charge) for science & technology, Jitendra Singh, on Tuesday.
“The European Union’s large orbiter Proba 3, which will observe the Sun, will go to space from Sriharikota in December. Space scientists from ISRO and the European Union are going to jointly observe the Sun’s atmosphere,” Singh said speaking at the third Indian Space Conclave, organised by the Indian Space Association (ISPA).
The Proba-3 satellite, which arrived in Sriharikota this morning is designed to observe the Sun’s faint corona. This mission marks India’s third launch for the European Union, following support for the Proba-1 and Proba-2 satellites, but stands out due to its focus on solar observation. The satellite will be launched by the PSLV-XL rocket. Singh noted that Proba-3 will offer important data on solar corona dynamics, contributing to ISRO’s expanding scientific initiatives, which include the Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission. He also attributed the growth of India’s space sector to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policy changes.
Singh also set out the ambitious goal of establishing the Indian space station Bharatiya Antariksha Station (BAS) by 2035, and landing the first Indian on the Moon by 2040. He also added that India aims at increasing its contribution to the global space economy from 2% to 10%.
Singh also highlighted India’s growing capabilities in space innovation. “We are no longer waiting for technologies to be handed down to us; we are now innovators in our own right, developing solutions that are shaping global standards. The sense of confidence that permeates our space endeavors is a reflection of our commitment to excellence and our vision for a self-reliant India,” he said.
Isro chairman S Somanath also spoke at the conclave and said that India is working towards achieving “Atmanirbharta” or self-reliance in the space sector through enabling policies, large-scale investments, and strategic partnerships.
Somanath said, “With strategic partnerships and a united vision, we are poised to make India a leader in space innovation, ensuring a vibrant, self-reliant space sector for decades to come.”
“Under strong government leadership, we’ve moved from announcements to concrete projects, defining a future where space drives economic growth, national security, and technological innovation,” he added.
Somanath acknowledged the challenges faced in the upstream sector, particularly in building large platforms, rockets, and launching them. “The challenges in the upstream side, building big platforms, building rockets and launching them remain very elusive primarily because of the higher investment required, the technology risks, the possibility of failures, recovery,” he said.
While industries and startups are emerging, their ability to scale up and compete with established global players remains uncertain. Somanath pointed out that larger industry houses in India must play a key role in this effort. “India is not void of any big houses having enough capability to invest and create as much as others are there in the world. But they need to take the plunge, possibly alone or in a very cooperative mode with others where there are skills in various areas,” he added.
The Cabinet last month had approved a ₹1,000-crore venture capital (VC) fund, under the aegis of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACE) for promotion of space oriented start-ups for the growth of space economy.
Somanath emphasised the need to foster leading space companies in India, not just service providers. “We need to create leading space companies in India, not just service providing companies. (We need to create space companies) who have the ability to design, conceive, manufacture and put up competitive, cost-competitive products in front of the world,” he said.
“With policies that enhance data accessibility, we’re enabling space- based applications to support sectors like agriculture and finance, aiming to create a robust, multifaceted space ecosystem,” Somanath said. He further said that India’s aim to landing an Indian on the moon by 2040 is the sign of India’s commitment to “human space exploration.”
Chairman of ISPA Jayant Patil outlined the economic impact of the space sector, noting that every rupee invested returns over 2.5 times to the economy, contributing over $60 billion to GDP in the past decade. “This sector is driving significant technological advancement and job creation. As we soar beyond the sky, we envision India’s space industry achieving exponential growth and contributing significantly by the 100th year of our independence,” Patil said.
Ambassador of the European Union to India and Bhutan Hervé Delphin said, “India and the EU are natural partners in space, both aiming for strategic autonomy in navigation, Earth observation, and communication technologies. With a shared vision for peaceful space use, we see immense potential for joint projects in climate monitoring, cybersecurity, and exploration.”
“Space diplomacy is crucial as well, and the EU seeks deeper collaboration with India through forums like the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, fostering responsible practices and preventing destabilising actions, such as anti-satellite tests,” Delphin said.
Quelle: Hindustan Times
----
Update: 8.11.2024
.
Proba-3 will constantly measure Sun’s energy output
Proba-3 is such an ambitious mission that it needs more than one single spacecraft to succeed. In order for Proba-3’s Coronagraph spacecraft observe the Sun’s faint surrounding atmosphere, its disk-bearing Occulter spacecraft must block out the fiery solar disk. This means Proba-3’s Occulter ends up facing the Sun continuously, making it a valuable platform for science in its own right.
The sunward side of the Occulter therefore hosts a dedicated instrument that will maintain a continuous measurement of the Sun’s total energy output, known as the total solar irradiance, which is a essential variable for climate studies.
The shoebox-sized Davos Absolute Radiometer, DARA, has been supplied to the mission by the Physical Meteorological Observatory Davos, PMOD, in Switzerland.
“Researchers used to talk about the ‘solar constant’ but in fact it is always changing slightly,” explains Wolfgang Finsterle, DARA Principal Investigator at PMOD. “And it’s essential to keep track of the total solar irradiance, because it is the dominant energy input to the surface of the Earth. It amounts to something like 99.978% of the energy available on Earth, including the conserved solar energy stored in coal and oil. It drives all the dynamic processes of Earth’s climate, so even the tiniest variations are hugely significant.”
The mountain-based PMOD has been studying total solar irradiance for more than a century, initially with ground-based instruments and then from the 1970s deploying space-based radiometers to acquire a continuous dataset. The World Meteorological Organization has mandated PMOD as the World Radiation Centre to calibrate radiation measurements across global UN monitoring programmes.
Wolfgang adds: “Total solar irradiance varies along with the 11-year cycle of solar activity, and one of the most obvious ways to look for long-term energy drift is to compare total solar irradiance between consecutive solar minimia.
“This requires a long time-series of data, ideally coming from multiple instruments because single radiometers will undergo degradation in sensitivity from the hard ultraviolet in the Sun’s rays they are continuously exposed to. That said any degradation is very gradual: the radiometer aboard the ESA-NASA SOHO solar observatory for instance, which was launched in back 1995, is still working satisfactorily.”
DARA’s basic operating principle is simple. The radiometer possesses a 5-mm diameter cavity made from black-painted silver, possessing low temperature emissivity. For 15 seconds at a time sunlight warms the interior of the cavity, then a shutter blade automatically closes at its entrance.
For the next 15 seconds electric heat maintains the cavity’s previous temperature – and the energy needed to maintain this temperature is extrapolated to the unit of total solar irradiance which is watts per metre squared.
This process continues for the entire lifetime of the instrument – the actuated shutter design employed in DARA has been tested for millions of opening and closings in PMOD’s vacuum chamber.
“DARA is an improvement on previous radiometer designs with an optimised cavity design to minimise unwanted straylight and a multi-channel measuring system for self-calibration,” adds Wolfgang. “This generation of instrument also possesses a fully digital control loop, allowing the possibility of experimenting with higher frequency observations.
Two versions of this radiometer design have already flown, notes Werner Schmutz of PMOD, who oversaw its development: “A compact version called CLARA flew on Noway’s NorSat-1 CubeSat in 2017, remaining operational to this day, while a previous DARA is serving aboard the Chinese FY-3E weather satellite, launched in 2021. So we have high confidence in the design, which can operate whenever the Proba-3 Occulter is pointed at the Sun within half a degree of accuracy.”
The main difference between Proba-3’s DARA and previous radiometers will be its very elongated orbit, which will carry it 60 000 km above Earth’s surface. DARA can automatically adjust to slight changes in the size of the solar disk based on how far it is away – which are also due to Earth’s yearly elliptical orbit around the Sun. All the radiometer needs to know is its position in space and its data gathering compensates for the shift.
