MG Science lands moon assignment
ISRO has asked the city college to ascertain mineral composition of moon
By Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 03:18:45 AM (Ahmedabad Mirror :http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=2009072820090728031845390cb60e7c4)
One of the oldest science colleges in Ahmedabad, MG Science Institute, has been asked by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to analyse images and other data glea
ned by Chandrayaan-1, country’s first unmanned moon probe. The study, which will be carried out by the 63-year-old college over a period of three years, will focus mainly on ascertaining mineral composition of the lunar surface.
By Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 03:18:45 AM (Ahmedabad Mirror :http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=2009072820090728031845390cb60e7c4)
One of the oldest science colleges in Ahmedabad, MG Science Institute, has been asked by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to analyse images and other data glea
ned by Chandrayaan-1, country’s first unmanned moon probe. The study, which will be carried out by the 63-year-old college over a period of three years, will focus mainly on ascertaining mineral composition of the lunar surface.Chandrayaan-1 was launched by ISRO on October 22, 2008, to scan the moon for any evidence of water, minerals and Helium 3, a rare isotope that some scientists believe could be a valuable energy source in future. Another key objective of the probe is to map a three-dimensional atlas of the moon.
The geology department of MG Science will examine data collected by three instruments — hyperspectral imager, moon mineralogy mission and SIR-2 — of the moon probe to find out lunar surface’s chemical and mineral composition.
“ISRO’s Space Applications Centre (SAC) has given us a three-year contract to analyse data, including hyperspectral images, gathered by Chandrayaan-1,” a professor at the college’s geology department, R D Shah, told Ahmedabad Mirror. “I and a junior fellow researcher, Disha Lal, will carry out the study, titled ‘Mineralogical Investigations of Lunar Surface’.”
“ISRO’s Space Applications Centre (SAC) has given us a three-year contract to analyse data, including hyperspectral images, gathered by Chandrayaan-1,” a professor at the college’s geology department, R D Shah, told Ahmedabad Mirror. “I and a junior fellow researcher, Disha Lal, will carry out the study, titled ‘Mineralogical Investigations of Lunar Surface’.”
Shah said that he and Lal would also try to find out the age and depth of some lunar craters whose pictures were taken by Chandrayaan-1, which is a cuboid spacecraft. “A preliminary examination of hyperspectral data has already begun,” he said. “I hope that MG Science gets more such projects in future.”
