ISRO Invites Research Proposals for Chandrayaan-3 Data Analysis

Quick Summary

• The Indian Space research Organisation (ISRO) has issued an Announcement of Chance (AO) for scientific analysis and utilisation of data from all experiments conducted by the Chandrayaan-3 lander and rover.
• Chandrayaan-3 achieved a historic soft landing on the Moon’s southern polar region on August 23, 2023, making India the first nation to accomplish this feat.
• The AO invites proposals from faculty and researchers affiliated with recognised academic institutions,research organisations,universities,colleges,or government entities in India.
• Proposals can be submitted individually or by groups of scientists/academicians outside ISRO/Department of Space; the Principal Investigator (PI) must have at least four years remaining before retirement. Co-PIs are allowed under a single proposal.
• Proposals must be endorsed by the head of institutions involved and submitted by October 21, 2025.
• Approved projects will need to be completed within three years but may receive a one-year extension based on deliverables and review commitee recommendations.Annual progress reviews will be conducted by ISRO to provide feedback for improvement.

Indian Opinion Analysis
ISRO’s call for external collaboration highlights its commitment to enhancing scientific revelation through broad-based participation within India’s academic community. By including researchers from outside its immediate ecosystem, ISRO seeks to democratise access to lunar mission data while fostering interdisciplinary perspectives that could unlock novel findings about the Moon’s unexplored polar regions.

The eligibility mandates ensure long-term commitments by PIs who may see their projects through full cycles while maintaining institutional alignment via endorsements from heads of institutions ensures accountability at multiple levels-a critical step for large-scale collaborations involving publicly funded research bodies like ISRO.

With carefully outlined timelines and built-in annual progress reviews that enable iterative improvements in project execution, this initiative reinforces India’s strategy not only in advancing lunar science but fostering innovation-driven national capacity-building within space research ecosystems.

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