New Delhi: A Bengaluru-born astronomer has been selected to lead an upcoming $20 million NASA mission designed to investigate the microscopic grains of matter drifting between stars. Dr. Ramya Anche, an assistant research professor at the University of Arizona’s Steward Observatory, will serve as the principal investigator for the PUFFINS mission, which stands for Polarimetry in the Ultraviolet to Find Features in INterStellar dust.
Operating under NASA’s Astrophysics Pioneers programme, the mission is targeted for launch in 2030. The project centers on a SmallSat equipped with a compact telescope measuring roughly 10 inches across. This instrument will observe ultraviolet light emitted by approximately 70 stars to gather data on minute dust particles floating in the interstellar medium.
While space may appear empty, it is filled with matter that affects how starlight travels across the galaxy. Dr. Anche noted that these particles are roughly the size of a common cold virus and play a critical role in the processes that form stars and planets. PUFFINS will utilize ultraviolet spectropolarimetry to measure the polarization of ultraviolet light across various wavelengths, a technique that has not been deployed from space in nearly thirty years.
The mission aims to examine dust grains smaller than about 50 nanometres and understand how they align with the Milky Way's magnetic field. This alignment leaves a distinct imprint on starlight passing through the region. Past ultraviolet polarization observations were limited to about 30 stars using the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarization Experiment aboard the Space Shuttle in the early 1990s, leaving a significant gap in astronomical data that the new mission intends to fill.
The collaborative effort involves the University of Arizona, the McDonald Observatory, and multiple international partners. Indian institutions including the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Pune and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics in Bengaluru are also participating in the initiative.
Dr. Anche grew up in Devanahalli near Bengaluru, completed her education locally, and joined the Indian Institute of Astrophysics in 2012 before earning her PhD and moving to the Steward Observatory in 2021. Her research background spans astronomical polarimetry, optical design, high-contrast imaging, and space telescopes. She submitted the winning PUFFINS proposal through NASA's competitive ROSES process while working as a postdoctoral researcher.
Beyond its scientific objectives, the Astrophysics Pioneers programme is designed to foster early-career leadership. Graduate and undergraduate researchers are being integrated into the project from its inception, participating directly in instrument design and development rather than only analyzing eventual data sets. Researchers hope the mission will also serve as a technological bridge toward future agency initiatives like the planned Habitable Worlds Observatory.