Proposed Indian National Programme for the International Heliospheric Study

Abstract

"Ulysses" is an International Solar Polar Mission (ISPM) to be carried out jointly by European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA. The Ulysses spacecraft will be launched in May 1986 by means of a Space Shuttle. The primary objective of the Ulysses mission is to investigate, for the first time, the properties of solar wind, the structure of Sun/wind interface, the heliospheric magnetic field, solar radio bursts and palsma waves, solar X-rays, solar and galactic cosmic rays and the interplanetary/interstellar neutral gas and dust, all as a function of solar latitude. The out-of-ecliptic phase of the Mission, which will occure during 1988 to 1992, has been designated by COSPAR as the period of the International Heliospheric Study (IHS).

It is proposed that India should actively participate in IHS both experimentally and theoretically. On experimental side, one could think of variety of ground-based, balloon, rocket and satellite observations of the Sun and interplanetary medium. On theoretical side also one could think of modeling linear and nonlinear plasma processes occuring on the Sun and their effects on particles and fields in the heliosphere. It is suggested that the best way to organize Indian effort for the above purpose would be to constitute a national steering committee for promotion of research in Solar Physics in general and heliosphere study in particular. This steerigncommittee should be responsible for generating an overall strategy for formulation and implementation of research activities in this field in India.