The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Saturday announced that it has collected advanced scientific data from the Chandrayaan-2 lunar orbiter to enhance understanding of the Moon’s polar regions, including parameters that describe the physical and dielectric properties of its surface.
In a statement, ISRO said this research marks India’s significant contribution to future global lunar exploration, providing new insights that could help unravel the Moon’s geological and chemical evolution.
Launched in 2019, the Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter continues to operate successfully, transmitting high-quality data from its suite of instruments.
ISRO has come up with advanced data products from the Chandrayaan-2 lunar orbiter for deeper understanding of the lunar polar regions. These include important parameters describing physical and dielectric properties of the Moon’s surface. This is India’s major value addition… pic.twitter.com/5w2eQ4OVky
— ISRO (@isro) November 8, 2025
🛰️ First-of-Its-Kind Mapping with Dual Frequency Radar
One of the orbiter’s key payloads, the Dual Frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar (DFSAR), has become the first instrument to map the Moon using the L-band in full-polarimetric mode at the highest spatial resolution of 25 metres per pixel.
This advanced radar system transmits and receives signals in both vertical and horizontal directions, making it particularly effective for analysing surface texture, composition, and subsurface characteristics.
According to ISRO, since its deployment, the DFSAR has collected and processed around 1,400 radar datasets, which have been used to create polarimetric mosaics of the north and south polar regions (spanning 80° to 90° latitudes).
🌑 Data Reveals Clues About Water-Ice and Surface Density
Scientists at ISRO’s Space Applications Centre (SAC) in Ahmedabad have utilised these datasets to produce advanced data products related to the potential presence of water-ice, surface roughness, and a key electrical property known as the dielectric constant — an indicator of the density and porosity of the lunar surface.
The space agency confirmed that both the algorithm for analysing full-polarimetric data and the data products themselves were developed indigenously by ISRO.
“These advanced datasets are crucial for gathering first-order information about the Moon’s polar environment,” ISRO stated. “The polar regions are believed to have preserved the early chemical conditions of the solar system, offering valuable clues to the evolution of planetary bodies.”
🌐 Data Released for Global Researchers
ISRO said the polar mosaic products (Level 3C), containing key radar parameters that describe both surface and subsurface dielectric properties, have been released publicly and are now freely available to scientists and researchers through the Indian Space Science Data Centre (ISSDC)’s PRADAN portal.
The agency added that these ready-to-use data products are expected to provide a holistic view of the lunar poles and complement hyperspectral datasets in mapping the distribution of minerals and volatiles on the Moon.
“This kind of comprehensive data product on lunar polar regions has always been sought after,” ISRO noted, “as it helps characterise the surface and subsurface for future lunar exploration missions.”