ISRO’s POEM-4 to fly 10 experiments by start-ups to space

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, December 27, 2024: In a rare opportunity, the upcoming launch of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) will enable ten Indian space start-up companies to fly their instruments into space. The upper stage of the rocket, which usually becomes space debris, has been re-purposed to help carry many small experiments to space.

ISRO chairman Dr S Somanath said the experiment ’not only helps the India’s space ecosystem to try their experiments at a very low cost but also generates wealth from waste since the upper stage of the rocket would have become space debris’.

Small companies lack the wherewithal to independently fly into space and look for piggyback opportunities, which are rare. "ISRO figured out that the fourth stage of the PSLV can be made into a test bed for technologies and this resource is made available to start-ups and academic institutions at minimal cost," said Dr Somanath.

To facilitate the start-ups, ISRO will provide the communication links from space and assured a power source and a place to house the instruments.

Ten Indian start-up companies will be flying instruments into space. Green propulsion modules will be tested and an edge computing experiment will be done using artificial intelligence and machine learning. Further, a radar will be tested with day and night viewing capability. and three life science experiments will also be flown. To this end, the last stage of the PSLV has been re-purposed to last a few months in space and named PS4-Orbital Experiment Module (POEM).

POEM provides an opportunity for the scientific community to carry out certain in-orbit microgravity experiments for an extended duration of up to three months, which otherwise would end up as space debris immediately after the mission objective of injecting the primary payloads of the mission. Such experimental payloads serve as precursor experiments to validate various proof-of-concept and enabling technologies for future missions.

PSLV-C60 SpaDeX mission is the fourth POEM Mission in the series. A total of 24 payloads will be flown in the POEM-4 mission, of which 14 payloads are from ISRO in-house centres and 10 payloads are from various Non-Government Entities (NGEs), comprising academia and start-ups that have been received through Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe). This is a significant three-fold increase in the capacity of POEM as compared with the previous POEM-3 platform, which had hosted eight payloads.

The 10 payloads from non-governmental entities or NGEs consist of the study of various spectra of science and engineering, such as growth of spinach plant cells or callus in space from Amity University (Mumbai); Green propulsion system thrusters from M/s Bellatrix Aerospace (Bengaluru), another Green propulsion using Hydrogen Peroxide based thruster from M/s Manastu Space Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (Mumbai); generation, capture, and processing of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images from M/s GalaxEye Space Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (Bengaluru); MEMS-based Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) sensors and microcontrollers for attitude measurement from MIT World Peace University,(MIT-WPU) Pune; demonstration of operational capability of the onboard transmitter by establishing a reliable communication link with the ISRO ground station from M/s Nspace Tech (Andhra Pradesh); in-orbit demonstration of synthetic aperture radar or SAR from M/s Piersight Space (Ahmedabad); measurement of growth kinetics of a gut bacterium in space from RV College of Engineering (Bengaluru); providing Amateur Radio Satellite services globally from SJC Institute of Technology (Karnataka) in collaboration with UPARC (Upagraha Amateur Radio Clubsat, URSC-ISRO), and India’s first Artificial Intelligence Lab (AI lab) in space from M/s TakeMe2Space (Hyderabad).

Ronak Samantray, CEO, TakeMe2Space, Hyderabad said, "The mission demonstrates real-time data processing for Earth observation."

An in-house team of ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, using the Compact Research Module for Orbital Plant Studies (CROPS) will demonstrate how seeds and leaves of cowpea germinate in near zero gravity environment of space. Seedlings lose orientation when grown in microgravity conditions.

Undergraduate students from the RV College of Engineering who are flying a microbiology experiment says the payload’s unique experiment, combining bacterial growth analysis with prebiotic supplementation, promises groundbreaking insights into maintaining an astronaut’s gut health.

"The idea of space and space biology has always intrigued me, and being part of this mission, was something I could have never imagined. As the Mission Manager, with utmost pride, I can say this is an inspiring moment for the upcoming generations to venture into this domain and contribute to advancing humanity", said Varshini GS, Mission Manager for RVSAT-1.

The data collected will enhance space medicine and provide clues for Earth applications, such as advanced waste recycling systems and combating antibiotic resistance.

Dr Somanath said, "The POEM experiment has done exceedingly well as it enables start-up companies to showcase that their innovation works in space and helps them gather real orders."