The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) is poised to launch India into the forefront of deep space exploration with its ambitious Daksha mission. Comprising a pair of twin satellites, the project is designed to carry the world’s most powerful wide-field space telescopes, aiming to unlock some of the universe’s most profound mysteries, including the nature of dark matter and the origins of the cosmos.

Daksha, a Sanskrit word meaning “able” or “competent,” promises to provide an unprecedented view of high-energy phenomena in space.

The core of the Daksha mission is its superior coverage and sensitivity in tracking high-energy cosmic events.

• Unmatched Volumetric Coverage: The twin satellites will continuously monitor a vast region of space—nearly five times the capacity of NASA’s current leader, the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope. By orbiting Earth on opposite sides, they ensure almost continuous all-sky coverage, dramatically increasing the chance of catching brief, transient events.
• Focus on Cosmic Explosions: Daksha’s primary targets are Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs), the universe’s most powerful explosions, often originating from the collision of black holes and neutron stars. Studying these events will provide crucial data on the genesis and expansion of the universe.
• The Hunt for Dark Matter: Scientists believe Daksha has the unique capability to search for primordial black holes (PBHs)—tiny black holes formed moments after the Big Bang—which are a major candidate for the universe’s elusive dark matter. By observing how PBHs gravitationally lens (bend) the light from distant GRBs, the mission could settle one of science’s longest-standing questions.

Led by a team from IIT Bombay and collaborating with top-tier Indian institutions including TIFR, RRI, and ISRO, the mission is hailed as a major leap for India’s scientific prowess.

“The age of catching up is over. Now is the time to be world-class,” stated Prof. Varun Bhalerao, an astrophysicist at IIT Bombay and the mission’s lead, highlighting that Daksha’s technology and scientific ambition surpass existing global capabilities in this domain.

While the primary scientific goals focus on black holes, the universe’s origins, and dark matter, the wealth of data on high-energy phenomena is expected to accelerate research across all fields of astrophysics.

The project has cleared all technical requirements with ISRO and now awaits full financial and policy approval from the Indian government to begin its construction phase. The scientific community is emphasizing the urgency of the mission, with some experts noting that a swift launch would secure India a leadership position in deep space exploration, a field where major Western agencies have slowed investment.