Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope on standby for signals from Mars lander

PUNE: The Schiaparelli lander of ExoMars Mission did not transmit any signal on Thursday, Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) observatory officials said. Its 30-odd telescopes were tuned in to receive any signal from European Space Agency's (ESA) lander on Thursday evening. Officials said if ESA's needs are important, the telescopes will be configured to detect signals from the lander.
"We got mail from ESA on Wednesday night requesting us to monitor signals from the lander.The telescopes were configured to pick up any signal between 4 and 6pm on Thursday. We have other experiments scheduled in the next few days. ESA is hoping to communicate with the lander and when they need our help, we will reschedule the assignments for Schiaparelli signals," dean GMRT observatory Yashwant Gupta said.
GMRT officials said they have the confidence to develop any receiver and software for space missions. "NASA makes specialized software for receiving signals. We can build reliable software and have the necessary hardware to support the mission," he added.
GMRT had declined monetary offers as this was a big opportunity in space exploration and they valued the experience, he said.
"NASA has talked to us about helping them in their next Mars mission in 2018 or 2020. ESA has another Mars mission in 2022. If the conditions are favourable and Mars is visible from our sky at the proper time, we can support them," Gupta added. They hope this success will turn Indian Space Research Organisation towards using GMRT's expertise in ground support for their space missions.