ISRO plans to set up telescope on the moon

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is exploring possibilities of setting up a telescope on moon as part of enhancing its scientific observation capacity. The space agency is expecting the second moon mission to take place by the end of next year, said A S Kiran Kumar, chairman of the ISRO.

  • The agency is looking at what could be the next Astrosat-follow on mission. The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, there is some discussion with an international body, and this discussion is in progress, on whether we can set up a telescope on moon.
  • At present, in Hanle, in Leh, Ladakh, there is a remote telescope operational, and its actual operation is done from Bengaluru with very minimal support from Hanle.
  • The ISRO exploring that if it can set up a telescope in moon in the same way, there would not be any atmosphetic effect since there is no atmosphere, which is an advantage.
  • India launched its first dedicated multi wave length space observatory Astrosat in September, 2015, for studies related to black holes and neutron stars.
  • Chandrayan 2 mission is under progress and it is expected to take place by the end of next year, while another planetary mission Aditya to study Sun is expected in 2018.