ISRO Unveils Groundbreaking Data from Chandrayaan-2: What It Means for Lunar Exploration

Significant Advancements in Lunar Research

New Delhi: On Saturday, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) revealed that it has obtained advanced data products from the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, which include new insights into the physical and dielectric characteristics of the Moon's polar regions.

ISRO characterized this achievement as a crucial step forward for future global lunar exploration. In a post on X, the agency stated that these new findings signify "India's significant contribution to the future exploration of the Moon."

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

Since its entry into lunar orbit in 2019, the Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter has amassed around 1,400 radar datasets, along with high-quality information from its Dual Frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar (DFSAR).

This radar system is the first of its kind to map the Moon using L-band full-polarimetric mode at a resolution of 25 meters per pixel, as stated in an official announcement.

The advanced radar technology transmits and receives signals in both vertical and horizontal orientations, making it particularly effective for analyzing surface characteristics.

Utilizing these datasets, scientists at the Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad have created advanced data products that indicate the potential presence of water-ice, surface roughness, and key electrical properties, including the dielectric constant, which reveals details about the Moon's surface density and porosity.

ISRO has developed the algorithm for analyzing the full-polarimetric data and generated these products domestically.

These advanced data products provide initial insights into the Moon's polar regions, which are believed to have preserved the primordial chemical conditions of the solar system and offer clues regarding the evolution of planetary bodies.

Moreover, these products enhance the understanding of mineral distribution on the Moon when combined with hyperspectral data.

In a related achievement, ISRO recently launched the CMS-03 satellite, its heaviest GEO communication satellite, using the LVM3-M5 rocket, also known as the 'Bahubali' rocket, successfully placing it into orbit.