Radar Polarimetric Decomposition Maps of Lunar North (L) and South (R) Pole, and Optical and (R) DFSAR Image of Peary Crater region in Lunar North Pole, from section marked on the mosaic

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced a major milestone in lunar science through the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, which continues to operate successfully around the Moon since 2019.

The orbiter has generated new, high-resolution datasets that offer deeper insight into the Moon’s polar regions, advancing global understanding of its surface characteristics and their connection to water-ice and mineral distribution.

ISRO emphasised that this achievement marks India’s significant contribution to future international lunar exploration efforts. The findings, processed using data from the Dual Frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar (DFSAR), highlight India’s growing expertise in planetary remote sensing and data processing.

The DFSAR payload aboard Chandrayaan-2 is the first radar instrument to map the lunar surface using the L-band in a full-polarimetric mode at a resolution of 25 metres per pixel. This radar configuration transmits and receives signals in both vertical and horizontal directions, allowing for precise measurements of the Moon’s physical and dielectric properties. Such dual-mode radar studies are vital in differentiating between surface rock types, soil composition, and potential ice-bearing regions.

Since its deployment, the orbiter has gathered nearly 1,400 radar datasets. These have now been processed into detailed polarimetric mosaics covering the lunar north and south poles between 80 and 90 degrees latitude.

The datasets have enabled scientists at the Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, to create advanced scientific products indicating the possible presence of water-ice, assessing surface roughness, and deriving the dielectric constant — a key indicator of surface density and porosity.

ISRO noted that the algorithms used for interpreting this complex polarimetric radar data were developed and implemented indigenously. This achievement demonstrates the organisation’s self-reliance in designing end-to-end data analysis pipelines for high-grade lunar observation missions.

The newly derived datasets hold significant scientific value in understanding the Moon’s polar environment, a region believed to preserve primordial chemical signatures from the early Solar System. Such ancient records offer essential clues for comprehending the evolution of planetary bodies and their geological transitions over billions of years.

According to ISRO, these ready-to-use data products are crucial for ongoing and future lunar missions. They provide the foundation for assessing terrain safety, resource distribution, and landing site characterisation for upcoming exploration programmes.

The organisation noted that the products also complement hyperspectral datasets, helping refine maps of mineral and volatile distribution across the Moon’s surface.

The polar mosaic products, categorised as Level 3C data, contain critical radar parameters that describe both physical and dielectric properties of the lunar surface and subsurface.

These datasets are now publicly accessible to researchers worldwide through ISRO’s Indian Space Science Data Centre (ISSDC) via the PRADAN web platform.

This release reinforces ISRO’s commitment to open science and its goal of enabling global collaboration in lunar research. The Chandrayaan-2 mission continues to yield valuable information about the Moon’s polar regions, positioning India as a key contributor to humanity’s collective understanding of the solar system’s nearest neighbour.

Based On ISRO News Report