Assam scientist to lead ISRO research project on India’s maiden Aditya-L1 mission

Guwahati, Oct 20: Bringing pride to Assam and the entire Northeast, Dr Murchana Khusroo, a native of Danish Nagar, Jorhat, and currently serving as an assistant professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM), has been awarded a prestigious research project by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) under its Regional Academic Centre for Space (RAC-S) programme.

The sanctioned project, titled ‘Multi-Spacecraft Investigation of Solar Wind Dynamics Through Solitary Wave Analysis: Insights from Aditya-L1 Mission,’ marks a milestone for the region as it is the first project from Northeast India to utilize scientific data from the ASPEX (Aditya Solar Wind Particle Experiment) and MAG (Magnetometer) payloads of India’s maiden solar mission, Aditya-L1.

The project will be led by Dr Murchana Khusroo as the principal investigator (PI), in collaboration with Dr Aveek Sarkar, scientist at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, as the co-principal investigator (Co-PI). Together, they will investigate the dynamics of the solar wind in the inner heliosphere, focusing on the detection and analysis of nonlinear plasma structures such as solitary waves. The research aims to advance understanding of solar wind turbulence and its role in space weather phenomena, aligning with the core scientific objectives of the Aditya-L1 mission.

The achievement stands as a landmark for USTM and a moment of regional pride for Jorhat and the entire Northeast scientific community, underscoring the region’s growing contribution to India’s expanding space research ecosystem.

By Staff Reporter