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IIT Bombay leading the Daksha project

Context: Led by IIT Bombay, in collaboration with esteemed institutions like PRL, TIFR, RRI, IUCAA, and ISRO centers, Daksha project will revolutionize our understanding of transient events in space.

It aims to build two high-energy space telescopes to study explosive astrophysical sources like gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational wave sources.

About the Daksha project

It is an ambitious proposal to build two high-energy space telescopes for the study of explosive astrophysical sources.
Each telescope will be equipped with three types of sensors to cover Low energy to high-range energy bands

Detector Packages

Low Energy (LE): 13 packages with Silicon Drift Detectors (SDDs).
Medium Energy (ME): 17 packages with Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) detectors.
High Energy (HE): 4 packages with NaI Scintillator and Silicon Photomultipliers (NaI + SiPM).
Coverage: Provides an order of magnitude better coverage than existing missions.
Sensitivity: Medium Energy (ME) detectors offer a sensitivity of 4 × 10^-8 erg cm^-2 s^-1 in the 20-200 keV range.
Orbit: 650 km near-equatorial orbit.

Key Features

Real-time Detection: Individual photon data downlinked in every satellite pass for real-time detection of transients.
Localization: GRB localization in orbit with resolution improving for brighter bursts. On-ground processing enhances localization accuracy.
Compton Imaging: Medium and High Energy detectors can function jointly as a Compton Imager.
Polarization Abilities: Utilizes Cadmium Zinc Telluride detectors for excellent polarization measurements, enhancing our understanding of transient events.

Significance

Scientific Advancement: Daksha is expected to discover thousands of GRBs and dozens of high-energy counterparts to binary neutron star mergers, advancing our understanding of astrophysical phenomena.
International Collaboration: Collaboration between leading Indian institutions and ISRO showcases India's prowess in space research and technology.
Educational Impact: The mission provides opportunities for research and education in astrophysics, fostering scientific curiosity and innovation.
The two satellites will orbit on opposite sides of earth to give better coverage than existing missions.
Will localize the source of emission of intense gravitational waves due to neutron star mergers or other reasons.
Neutron stars are formed when a massive star runs out of fuel and collapses.
Primordial Black Holes(PBH) mass window could be probed for the first time.
PBH are a type of black hole formed in the first second after the birth of the universe.

Other gamma ray detection mission

Astrosat: India’s multi-wavelength space observatory aimed at studying celestial sources in X-ray, optical, and UV spectral bands simultaneously.
Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope: NASA’s telescope observes gamma rays across a wide energy range
NASA’s Swift observatory: studies gamma-ray bursts.