Space Radiation Workshop was organized from 24-28 January 2022 by experts and students from India and United States of America. The workshop “Space Radiation Workshop: Radiation Characterization from Sun to Earth, Moon, Mars and Beyond” was organized to discuss issues related to the characterization of the space radiation environment for astrobiology and the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning tools.

Former ISRO President Kiran Kumar gave an overview of India’s previous space missions and charted a roadmap for new missions to 2025 in his keynote address on January 26, 2022.

ISRO space missions in the coming years

He said Chandrayaan 1 was an important mission for ISRO, and it changed the perception of the Moon for us, including the discovery of OH and water molecules on the Moon.

“The Mars Orbiter mission has spent 7 years studying Mars. The AstroSat mission is the first dedicated astronomical observatory that India has put into orbit.

It is a broad collaboration between many national institutes and has provided data for a large number of important studies in astronomical research. The Chandrayaan 2 orbiter is healthy and all payloads are operational.

The spacecraft can remain functional for many years. The data obtained so far has already resulted in numerous publications,” he added.

He also pointed out that the manufacture of the satellite for the Aditya-L1 mission, which will study the sun, is nearing completion and will likely be launched this year. He also said that in the future, ISRO and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will collaborate on a lunar exploration mission.

Space radiation workshop under Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav

The workshop was supported by the Indo-American Forum on Science and Technology and organized by the Aryabhatta Research Institute for Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and technology, Govt. of India) and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune.

This is part of the activities commemorating ’75 years of Indian Independence: Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ at ARIES.

Space Radiation Workshop Topics

The 5-day workshop had a theme for each day Earth, Air and Spaceflight, Exploration, Space Radiation and Biology, Space Situational Awareness and Opportunities.

It included a wide variety of lectures on areas such as cosmic rays, solar monitoring, space exploration, space weather and its effects on satellites and astronauts, astrobiology, balloon studies by experts working in the respective fields.

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