Abstract
India reached a major milestone in the area of space astronomy with the successful launch and post-launch operations of its first space observatory, AstroSat. The success of this space observatory and the lessons learned must be utilized effectively to enlarge the footprint of Indian space astronomy in the international scene. In response to a call for proposals by the Indian Space Research Organization, a detailed proposal for a next generation UV-optical mission, the Indian spectroscopic and imaging space telescope (INSIST) was submitted. Combining a large focal area with a simple and efficient optical design, INSIST is expected to produce HST-quality imaging and moderate resolution spectra of astronomical sources. The main science drivers for this mission span a wide range of topics, starting from evolution of galaxies in groups and clusters, chemo-dynamics and demographics of the nearby Universe, stellar systems with accretions, to stars with planetary systems and to cosmology near and far. The proposal was awarded seed funding and has completed two years of pre-project phase. An overview of this proposed mission is presented here along with the current status.
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Acknowledgements
This paper is on behalf of the entire INSIST team and the author thanks and acknowledges all the members of the team for their contribution. Seed funding for the pre-project phase is gratefully acknowledged. Thanks to the referee for the comments that helped to improve the manuscript.
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This article is part of the Special Issue on “Astrophysical Jets and Observational Facilities: A National Perspective”
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Subramaniam, A. An overview of the proposed Indian spectroscopic and imaging space telescope. J Astrophys Astron 43, 80 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12036-022-09870-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12036-022-09870-3