7.42 crore voters on Bihar’s final electoral rolls at the end of SIR
EC says physical, digital copies of rolls being shared with parties; electors with complaints can appeal before the District Magistrate and State CEO
Ahead of the Assembly election in Bihar, the Election Commission on Tuesday released the final electoral rolls in the State with nearly 7.42 crore names on the completion of the special intensive revision of the list.
Prior to the revision, the State had 7.89 crore voters as on June 24. When the draft list was released on August 1, there were 7.24 crore names with 65 lakh removed. On the final list, 21.53 lakh names were added and 3.66 lakh removed, a press statement from the commission said.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar thanked the electors, officials, booth-level agents and leaders of political parties in Bihar for the completion of the special revision in the State after a gap of 22 Years today.
Bihar’s Chief Electoral Officer Vinod Singh Gunjiyal said voters could check their details on voters.eci.gov.in/
download-eroll.
“If any eligible person still wishes to apply for inclusion of their name in the electoral roll, they can submit an application up to 10 days before the last date for filing nominations for election,” Apurva Kumar Singh, Assistant Director, EC, said in the statement.
Mr. Singh said if any person was not satisfied with the decision of the electoral registration officer on entry on the electoral rolls, they may, under Section 24 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, file a first appeal before the District Magistrate and a second appeal before the CEO.
Mr. Singh said the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) and district-, constituency-, and block-level election officers had shared, with political parties, the booth-level lists of electors who were reported as deceased, whose enumeration forms were not received, who had permanently migrated, or who could not be traced, with the objective of identifying eligible voters.
The draft electoral rolls were shared with all political parties, while the list of names not included on the draft rolls was displayed by the district election officers and district magistrates, as well as on the website of the Bihar CEO.
He said the SIR exercise was carried out in line with Article 326 of the Constitution. “This large-scale exercise was made successful through the sincere efforts of Chief Electoral Officer Bihar, District Election Officers of all 38 districts, 243 Electoral Registration Officers, 2.976 Assistant Electoral Registration Officers, around 1 lakh Booth Level Officers, lakhs of volunteers and the full involvement of all the 12 major Political Parties, including their district presidents and over 1.6 lakh Booth Level Agents appointed by them,” Mr. Singh said.
Ruling parties welcome SIR-vetted list
Bihar’s ruling parties welcomed the final electoral rolls. “We welcome the final voter list of Bihar after SIR has been completed successfully. This is certainly a step towards strengthening democracy and will increase transparency in elections,” BJP State spokesperson Niraj Kumar said.
Janata Dal(U) MLC and spokesperson Neeraj Kumar slammed the Opposition for questioning the EC’s credibility. “The Opposition parties were raising a finger against the EC with the slogan of ‘Vote chori (vote theft)’ and now the final list has been published in which more than 21 lakh names have been added. In Bihar, the maximum population is of marginalised section and their names have been added. The Opposition is exposed now,” he said.
Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal spokesperson Chitranjan Gagan said that the party would give its official statement on the completion of SIR after reviewing it with booth-level agents and panchayat representatives.
CM announces more relief for rain-hit farmers
After an aerial survey of flood-hit areas in Kalyana Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday announced that the State government would provide an additional ₹8,500 per hectare over and above the Union government’s crop loss compensation under Nationalk Disaster Response Fund norms, across all three crop categories – rainfed, irrigated, and perennial.
After an aerial survey of flood-hit areas in Kalyana Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday announced that the State government would provide an additional ₹8,500 per hectare over and above the Union government’s crop loss compensation under NDRF norms, across all three crop categories — rainfed, irrigated, and perennial.
He made the announcement at a media conference in Kalaburagi after an aerial survey of Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Bidar, and Yadgir districts and chairing a review meeting.
“As per NDRF norms, rainfed, irrigated, and perennial crops are entitled to ₹8,500, ₹17,000, and ₹22,500 per hectare, respectively. The State government will add ₹8,500 across the board, raising compensation to ₹17,000 for rainfed, ₹25,500 for irrigated, and ₹31,000 for perennial crops,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said.
Extent of damage
The Chief Minister said that over 9.6 lakh hectares of crops have been damaged across the State, of which 9.03 lakh hectares were in just eight northern districts of Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Yadgir, Bidar, Bagalkot, Belagavi, Raichur, and Gadag, accounting for 95% of the State’s total loss.
“As per preliminary estimates, nearly 10 lakh hectares of standing crops have been affected. But we have managed to survey only about 50% so far. With fields still waterlogged and soil too wet, the final figures may go up once the water recedes,” he said.
The flooding has claimed 52 lives and 422 heads of cattle, apart from fully damaging 547 houses. “We have already released compensation for human casualties. Relief for 407 cattle deaths has also been paid. In all, 80 relief centres have been set up, housing more than 10,500 people,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said.
Excess rainfall
Between June 1 and September 29 this year, Karnataka recorded 879 mm of rainfall – 4% above normal. But the surge was much higher in northern districts: Vijayapura 615 mm (+58%), Kalaburagi 768 mm (+34%), Yadgir 659 mm (+29%), and Bidar 750 mm (+16%).
“This year, North Karnataka has seen rainfall levels not witnessed in many years. Coupled with the massive inflow from Maharashtra’s reservoirs, it has created one of the worst flood disasters in recent memory,” he observed.
Stressing the Centre’s role in disaster response, he said his government would submit a memorandum seeking additional funds.
“I will send a delegation to meet the Prime Minister and Union Ministers of Home, Finance and Agriculture to demand more funds for flood relief,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said.
Aerial survey
Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister, accompanied by Ministers M.B. Patil, Krishna Byre Gowda, and Priyank Kharge, undertook the aerial survey of flood-affected areas.
The first round focused on villages in Kalaburagi and Vijayapura, followed by Bidar and Yadgir in the second.
After the aerial inspection, the Chief Minister held a detailed review with elected representatives and senior officers.
He noted that crop losses had occurred in two phases – in August and later in September – and insisted on a single-phase compensation drive.
Five city corporations to have 368 wards, up from 198
As anticipated, the East Corporation, with the lowest population, has the least number of wards at 50, the West Corporation, with the highest population, has the highest number of wards at 111
The State government on Tuesday published a draft of the new wards within the five city corporations in Bengaluru, taking the total number of wards in the city to 368, up from 198.
As anticipated, the East Corporation, with the lowest population, has the least number of wards at 50, the West Corporation, with the highest population, has the highest number of wards at 111. While North and South corporations have 72 wards each, the Central Corporation will have 63 wards, as per the draft notification.
The draft notification gives ward boundaries and prominent areas in the ward, but gives neither a map nor the population and size of the wards.
Ward sizes
While the ward delimitation was carried out based on the 2011 Census, the average ward size as per projected population for 2023 varies in the range of 26,000 in the East Corporation to over 43,000 in the North Corporation.
This ward size is definitely an improvement from the situation under the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) where the population of many wards crossed 1 lakh.
But given that the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024, provides up to 150 wards in each corporation taking the total to 750 in the city, and Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D.K. Shivakumar had hinted at 500 wards, many argue there was room to carve out much smaller wards.
There was an excitement over smaller wards, not only in terms of service delivery, but also over its potential to encourage non-traditional political formations to contest and win wards, said N.S. Mukunda of Bengaluru Praja Vedike. “But these ward sizes kill that possibility and further entrench the stranglehold of traditional parties in the city’s politics and governance, for which there will obviously be a bipartisan approval among the traditional parties. This is against the spirit of decentralisation, which Congress claimed to be at the heart of restructuring governance in Bengaluru,” he said.
Outdated on arrival
The guidelines for the Delimitation Commission mandated that each ward should represent around 20,000 residents, with a leeway for 25% variance to ensure balanced representation, as per the 2011 Census, the latest census available, based on which ward delimitation has to be done.
While, as per the 2011 Census, the city’s population was around 85 lakh, it is projected to be 1.44 crore in 2023, which essentially means the new wards are outdated on arrival.
M. Maheshwar Rao, Chief Commissioner, Greater Bengaluru Authority and Chairman of the Ward Delimitation Commission, said that the wards have been carved out based on the 2011 Census within the guidelines issued to the Commission. Citizens can submit their objections to the draft by writing to the Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Development Department by October 15. The final notification of the ward boundaries is expected to be published by November 1.
India got 8% more monsoon rainfall this year, says IMD
India this year received 8% more monsoon rainfall than normal, the fifth-highest since 2001 and the 38th highest since 1901, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tuesday.
The IMD considers only the rainfall from June 1 to September 30 to calculate monsoon data.
While the southwest monsoon season largely boded well for agriculture by boosting storage in reservoirs, it wreaked havoc in several parts of the country — particularly in North India — leading to loss of life and property.
Seasonal rainfall over northwest India, central India, and south peninsula was 27%, 15% and 10% more than their seasonal averages. However, rainfall in eastern and northeastern India was 80% of what those regions usually get.
The rainfall over northwest India was 74.79 cm, the highest since 2001 and sixth highest since 1901, while that over east and northeast India was 108.9 cm, the second lowest since 1901. Overall, the monsoon rainfall was 93.7 cm.
The monsoon season saw extremely heavy spells in several parts of northern and southern India, thanks to the conjoining of storms that originated in the Mediterranean region, along with the monsoon trough that hovers over the Indian landmass during the monsoon season. When parsed by months, rainfall was 9% more than what is usual in June, 5% more in both July and August, and 15% excess in September.
The southwest monsoon advanced over the south Andaman Sea and Nicobar Islands on May 13, 2025, nearly nine days ahead of the normal schedule. It arrived in Kerala on May 24, ahead of the usual onset date of June 1, and covered the entire country by June 29.
There were seven monsoon depressions, or sub-cyclonic storms that form in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, during the season. Of the seven, one intensified into a deep depression. Storms falling in this category last an average of 69 days against a normal of 55, contributing to the extended spells of heavy rain.
Though the monsoon system has not fully withdrawn and will prevail over the next couple of weeks, the IMD does not count that rain in its quota of monsoon rainfall. For October, the agency has forecast ‘above normal’ rain in the country, except for parts of north and northwest India.
While a La Nina is expected to form in the central equatorial Pacific Ocean and it usually means a stronger winter, IMD Director-General M. Mohapatra said this was not always the case.
A forecast for winter (December, January and February) will be available around November, he added.
Centre directs NGOs to seek FCRA renewal 4 months before expiry
The Hindu Bureau New Delhi
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday directed non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to submit applications for renewal of their Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) registration at least four months before expiry.
FCRA registration, which is mandatory for NGOs and associations to receive foreign funds, is renewed every five years. In a communication, the Ministry noted that several associations had been submitting renewal applications less than 90 days before the expiry of their certificates.
“Such delayed submissions do not allow sufficient time for scrutiny and for obtaining inputs from security agencies,” the Ministry said. It stated that NGOs are “strictly advised to submit their renewal applications well in advance and, in any case, not later than four months before the validity expires.
Maharashtra, Karnataka report most number of farmer suicides
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has said in its report that 10,786 farmers and agricultural workers committed suicide in 2023. The most number of cases was from Maharashtra (38.5%), followed by Karnataka (22.5%).
The organisations of farmers blamed the Narendra Modi government’s policies for the situation, and said the decision to waive off import duty on cotton would vitiate the situation as most of the suicides were still from the cotton belts of the country.
Of the 10,786 suicides from the farming sector, 4,690 were farmers or cultivators, and 6,096 were agricultural workers. The farm suicides accounted for 6.3% of total suicides (1,71,418 suicides in 2023) in the country.
Out of the 4,690 farmers who committed suicide, 4,553 were male and 137 were female, and out of the 6,096 suicides by farm workers, 5,433 were male and 663 were female.
After Maharashtra and Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh (8.6%), Madhya Pradesh (7.2%), and Tamil Nadu (5.9%) registered the most number of suicides. West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Chandigarh, Delhi, and Lakshadweep reported no suicides from the farm belt.
Commenting on the NCRB data, the president of the All India Kisan Sabha, Ashok Dhawale, said more than 10,000 suicides had been reported from the farm sector in 2021, 2022 and 2023, and it showed the systemic crisis that the Modi government could not grasp or combat.
“This crisis is going to aggravate as a large number of farmer suicides take place in the cotton and soybean belt. Maharashtra has turned out to be the graveyard of farmers. The Marathwada and Vidarbha region are cotton and soybean belts. In spite of this, the Union government is bowing to the pressure to sign Free Trade Agreements, and to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff terrorism. The government cancelled the 11% import duty on cotton. This means that American cotton is going to come here. Agriculture will be finished by these treaties,” Mr. Dhawale said, adding that the NCRB data could not be trusted.
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Over 1.73 lakh killed in road accidents in 2023, 1.6% rise: NCRB
More than 1.73 lakh people were killed and 4.47 lakh injured in road accidents across the country in 2023 with nearly 46% of the victims being two-wheeler riders, according to a report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
Speeding and careless driving were found to be the two major causes of road accidents.
A total of 4,64,029 road accidents took place in the country in 2023, 17,261 more than in 2022 — with a 1.6% increase in fatalities, from 1,71,100 in 2022 to 1,73,826 in 2023.
The highest number of accidents (20.7% of total) were reported between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Two-wheelers accounted for the highest number of fatal road accidents, causing 79,533 deaths, or 45.8% of total deaths, followed by pedestrians at 27,586 (15.9%) and SUV/car/jeep at 24,776 (14.3%).
Most of the deaths in two-wheeler accidents were reported in Tamil Nadu (11,490) and Uttar Pradesh (8,370). A large number of deaths due to SUV/car/jeep accidents were reported in Uttar Pradesh (19.2% of total ) and a large number of deaths due to trucks/lorries/mini truck accidents were also reported in the State (29.9% of total).
The NCRB said cause-wise analysis of fatal road accidents revealed that 58.6% (1,01,841) and 23.6% (41,035) of fatalities were due to speeding and dangerous/careless driving or overtaking, respectively.
Poor weather conditions, driving under influence of drug/alcohol and animal crossing caused 4,952 deaths.
The highest number of deaths were reported on the National Highways accounting for 34.6%, followed by State Highways at 23.4%.
Crime against children records 9.2% rise in 2023
Press Trust of India New Delhi
A total of 1,77,335 cases of crime against children were registered in 2023, showing an increase of 9.2% over the 2022 figure, according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report.
The data compiled by the NCRB showed that the crime rate in 2023 stood at 39.9 per 1,00,000 child population in comparison to 36.6 in 2022.
The major crime heads in 2023 were “Kidnapping and abduction of children” (79,884 cases, 45%) and “Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act” (67,694 cases, 38.2%).
Madhya Pradesh topped the list with 22,393 total cases, followed by Maharashtra (22,390) and Uttar Pradesh (18,852).
Vinay wins trap bronze; Indian pairs make it a 1-2 in mixed air rifle
Vinay Pratap Chandrawat fought his way to the trap bronze, even as the Indian mixed air rifle teams clinched the gold and silver, in the Junior World Cup on Tuesday.
The 20-year-old Vinay first topped the shoot-off when five competed for the last three spots in the final, on being tied at 118 in qualification. In fact, Vinay shot a perfect fifth round of 25 to stay in the reckoning for the final.
After having missed four of the first 15 in the final, Vinay was at his best, as he missed only two hits over the next 25 birds to secure the bronze ahead of compatriot Arjun.
Toni Gudelj of Croatia beat Isaac Hernandez of Spain 44-41 for the gold.
In women’s trap, Sabeera Haris shot 112 and lost the shoot-off for the last berth in the final to Lucy Myers of USA.
In mixed air rifle, Isha Taksale and Himanshu pipped qualification toppers Shambhavi Kshirsagar and Naraen Pranav by 0.2 point for the gold, after the two teams were tied at 15-15. It was the second gold for Himanshu as he had won the individual air rifle event on Monday.
India was on top of the medals table with seven gold, nine silver and seven bronze. Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) was second with four gold, two silver and four bronze. Italy was third with two gold and two silver, while Croatia and Czechia were joint fourth with a gold medal each. The World Cup will conclude with the junior women’s sports pistol and mixed trap events on Wednesday.
Srihari wins his fifth medal, Rohit claims silver in 50m butterfly
Star Indian swimmer Srihari Nataraj once again stood tall, bagging a bronze in the 100m freestyle to extend his personal haul to five medals at the 11th Asian aquatics championships here on Tuesday.
Also making his mark was Rohit B. Benedicton, who claimed a silver in men’s 50m butterfly and took India’s medal tally to nine.
Smart move
Drawn in lane five, Srihari paced his race smartly.
The Indian swimmer turned third at the 50m mark with China’s Haoyu Wang (49.19) and Qatar’s Ali Tamer Hassan (49.46) ahead of him while Akash Mani (50.45) was close on his heels. In the second lap, Srihari maintained his rhythm to hold off the chasing pack and secure a bronze in 49.96s.
Good season
“The training has been going really well and I have had a good season this year. I was fast in the heats and with the way my training has been going, I thought I’d be faster here.
“But the others swam a brilliant race as well and I’m just glad I got my hand on the wall to be on the podium,” Srihari said after the race.
“The energy is amazing. Usually in swimming, you can’t hear anything while racing, but in the last 50m of the relay on Monday, I don’t know who it was, I could hear people screaming and cheering us the whole time. A great feeling,” he added.
In men’s 50m butterfly, Rohit started well and went on the clinch the silver medal with a time of 23.89, finishing close behind Kazakhstan’s Adilbek Mussin (23.74).
Faltering
Meanwhile, Dhinidhi Desinghu and Shashidhara Rujula booked their places in the women’s 100m freestyle final but could not break through the top half of the field, finishing sixth and eighth respectively.
IISc researchers developnew system to transform seawater into drinking water
This is said to carry out the process in a faster and cost effective manner compared to the existing methods; the desalination unit is low-cost, scalable, and sustainable
Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed a new siphon-based thermal desalination system which can transform salty seawater into clean drinking water. This system is said to carry out the process in a faster and cost effective manner compared to the existing methods.
According to the Department of Science and Technology, traditional solar stills, which mimic nature’s water cycle, have long been promoted as simple water purifiers.
Two challenges
However, the department said that this method faces two persistent challenges which are salt buildup, where crusts form on evaporator surfaces resulting in blocking water flow.
The second challenge with this method is scaling limits where wicking materials can only lift water about 10–15 cm, restricting system size and output.
The department said that the IISc team of researchers have addressed both challenges using the principle of siphonage. The siphon-based thermal desalination system developed by the researchers uses a composite siphon which is a fabric wick paired with a grooved metallic surface. The fabric draws salty water from a reservoir, while gravity ensures a smooth, continuous flow. Instead of allowing salt to crystallize, the siphon flushes it away before buildup occurs.
“The water spreads as a thin film across the heated metal surface, evaporates, and then condenses just two millimeters away onto a cooler surface. This ultra-narrow air gap significantly enhances efficiency, producing more than six liters of clean water per square meter per hour under sunlight which is several times higher than conventional solar stills,” the department said.
By stacking multiple evaporator–condenser pairs, the device recycles heat repeatedly, squeezing maximum output from each ray of sunshine.
The department said that the desalination unit is low-cost, scalable, and sustainable, relying only on simple materials such as aluminum and fabric.
The system can run on solar energy or waste heat, making it suitable for off-grid communities, disaster zones, and arid coastal regions. It can also handle extremely salty water (up to 20% salt) without clogging which is a major advance in brine treatment.
The department said that this system could help secure safe drinking water for millions in water-stressed regions.
“From small villages to island nations, the siphon-powered desalination system may finally make the ocean a dependable source of fresh drinking water,” it said.
ADB cuts India’sFY26 growthforecast to 6.5% on U.S. tariff impact
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has downgraded India’s growth outlook for the current financial year to 6.5% from the 6.7% predicted in April, on account of the impact of the 50% tariffs imposed by the U.S. on imports from India.
The outlook for 2026-27 has also been revised downwards to 6.5% from the earlier prediction of 6.8%.
The ADB, in its Asian Development Outlook September 2025, released on Tuesday, also reduced its growth forecast for developing Asia to 4.8% for the current year 2025 from its forecast in April of 4.9%. Similarly, the forecast for 2026 has been cut to 4.5% from 4.7%.
“The revisions reflect downgrades for India, hit by steep tariff hikes, and Southeast Asia, driven by a worse and more uncertain global environment,” the report said. India faces the steepest tariff hikes among developing Asian economies, prompting a downgrade in its growth outlook.”
The report further said that, despite strong growth in the first quarter of the current financial year, driven by consumption and public investment, the elevated U.S. tariffs, which it said affected about 60% of goods exported to the U.S., will weigh on growth starting in the second half of 2025-26 and in 2026-27.
“Merchandise exports are expected to grow only modestly, constrained by US tariffs on key exports, while exports of services are expected to remain robust and a key driver of growth,” it said. “Investment growth is expected to be lower than previously forecast, with corporate investment still subdued by global trade uncertainty.”
The escalation in tariffs is expected to weigh heavily on key export sectors such as textiles, ready-made garments, jewellery, shrimp, and chemicals, the report noted. On the other hand, however, it noted that consumption demand is expected to grow more than previously expected, aided by lower food prices and cuts to consumption and income taxes.
“The 2025-26 inflation projection for India is revised downward to 3.1%, reflecting subdued global oil prices and a faster-than-expected decline in food prices due to higher agricultural production,” the report said.
However, it added that food prices are expected to normalise in 2026-27, leading to an upward revision of the inflation forecast to 4.2% for that year.
Centre extends RoDTEP export sop plan till March 2026
The Government has extended the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) incentive scheme for exporters until March 31, 2026. Exporters welcomed the move, saying it removes substantial uncertainty and comes when Indian exports are facing significant headwinds.
Started in 2021, the RoDTEP scheme provides refunds to exporters for any embedded duties, taxes, and levies incurred by them not already refunded under other schemes.
The scheme had earlier been available until February 5 this year. In May, following significant lobbying by exporters, the government restored the RoDTEP scheme for exporters done by Advance Authorisation (AA) holders, Export-Oriented Units (EOUs), and units in Special Economic Zones (SEZs).
“The timely extension of RoDTEP has removed the uncertainty that was weighing on the exporting community,” said S.C. Ralhan, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations.
NASA’s IMAP will show how solar particles are energised and shield us
IMAP, which was launched on September 24, will map the heliosphere’s boundary, trace energetic particles, and improve space weather forecasting
Space isn’t empty. The sun issues a continuous stream of charged particles called the solar wind, which creates a vast region around our solar system called the heliosphere. This region acts like a protective bubble that shields the planets from cosmic rays and interstellar particles. Yet the structure, dynamics, and boundary of the heliosphere are still poorly understood. Scientists want to know how particles are accelerated in the solar wind and how they interact with the space between stars. Changes in the solar wind and its particles also affect space weather, which can damage satellites, harm astronauts, and disrupt communication systems on earth.
To address these questions, NASA launched the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) on September 24. Its goal is to map the heliosphere’s boundary, trace energetic particles, and improve space weather forecasting.
IMAP is equipped with 10 scientific instruments, each designed to detect different types of particles or phenomena in space. Some of them are energetic neutral-atom detectors (IMAP-Lo, IMAP-Hi, IMAP-Ultra), which capture neutral atoms that were once charged ions but were changed by acquiring electrons. Other instruments detect charged particles directly, magnetic fields, interstellar dust, and solar-wind structures.
After launch, IMAP will travel to the sun-earth Lagrange point 1 (L1), about 1.6 million km from the earth toward the sun, where gravitational forces balance in a way that allows the spacecraft to remain in a stable orbit with minimal fuel use. Once there, IMAP will continuously observe incoming solar wind and energetic particles from a fixed vantage point. IMAP will also send data in near real-time to help scientists monitor space weather conditions.
Based on mission design and early operations, scientists expect IMAP will produce the most detailed maps yet of the heliosphere’s boundary, revealing how the solar wind collides with the interstellar medium. It will also trace how particles accelerate from the sun, move out, or are energised in the heliosphere. In more specialised research, IMAP-Lo is expected to be able to observe interstellar neutral hydrogen and deuterium, possibly distinguishing primary versus secondary populations of these atoms at the heliopause, which is the outermost layer of the heliosphere.
IMAP data are expected to have profound implications. By revealing the structure and dynamics of the heliosphere, physicists can deepen their understanding of how our solar system is protected against cosmic radiation. That is relevant to understanding the earth’s habitability and that of exoplanets as well. Second, better data on solar wind behaviour will strengthen physicists’ ability to forecast space weather, in turn helping protect satellites, communications networks, power grids, and orbital crews.
For future human exploration beyond the earth, IMAP’s measurements of how particles travel and are accelerated will help plan safer routes and design better shielding for spacecraft.
