The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched its first satellite to study black holes, making it the second country after the US to launch such a project. The space agency also announced the country's ambitious plans for 2024, which include preparing for its first mission manned
India's X-ray Polarimeter Satellite , launched on Monday aboard ISRO's PSLV rocket , is set to study black holes and other celestial objects.
This new satellite, which carries two scientific payloads in low Earth orbit, will study various astronomical X-ray sources.
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NASA launched a similar mission about two years ago, in December 2021, and it showed how much useful information can be collected. Since then, we've seen remnants of supernova, as well as streams of particles emitted by black holes.
India's new X-ray Polarimeter Satellite mission, expected to last about 5 years, will help Indian scientists better understand the X-ray emission mechanism of various astronomical sources such as black holes, neutron stars and nebulae.
The scientific payloads will particularly investigate the polarization of intense -ray X in space, which could help to better understand the radiation mechanism and geometry of such celestial sources.
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Black holes and neutron stars are of particular interest, as they are extremely dense objects , formed from the remnants of dying stars
In black holes, a huge amount of mass, many times greater than that of the Sun, accumulates in a very small area, with a gravitational pull that is so strong that even light cannot pass through without being attracted by it.
India's new mission aims to study about 50 potential cosmic sources, in the long term, using this satellite.
The launch of the satellite to study black holes comes after a series of successful launches by ISRO in 2023, including the groundbreaking Chandrayaan-3 mission that landed a spacecraft at the Southplanet's Pole and a satellite launched to study the Sun.
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In 2024, India is also preparing for its long-awaited first manned to space. This mission is called Gaganyaan.
With the new missions, India is demonstrating its dedication to space exploration.
Additionally, India plans to expand its exploration to other planets, such as andMars. Jupiter This will enable scientists to further study the conditions and evolution of these planets, while increasing our understanding of the universe .
Finally, India hopes to develop its ability to carry out more complex and demanding missions, such as the search for life on other planets. This could lead to major discoveries and change the way we understand the universe.
Source: www.independent.co.uk
