Dr Ramya Manjunath Anche, an assistant research professor at the University of Arizona’s Steward Observatory, has been selected as the principal investigator of NASA’s PUFFINS mission, which will study tiny dust particles present between stars. The mission has received $20 million in funding and is targeted for launch in 2030.
PUFFINS stands for Polarimetry in the Ultraviolet to Find Features in INterStellar dust. The mission will use a small satellite carrying a telescope approximately 10 inches across to observe ultraviolet light from around 70 stars. The observations are expected to provide information about the properties, distribution and behaviour of interstellar dust.
These dust particles, some smaller than 50 nanometres, play a role in how light travels through space and in the processes associated with the formation of stars and planets. However, their small size makes them difficult to study using conventional optical and infrared observations.
The mission will employ ultraviolet spectropolarimetry, a technique that measures the polarisation of ultraviolet light across different wavelengths. By examining changes in starlight as it passes through interstellar dust, researchers aim to understand the alignment of dust grains with the Milky Way’s magnetic field and investigate their characteristics.
According to the mission team, ultraviolet polarisation observations of interstellar dust have been limited, with earlier space-based observations conducted in the early 1990s. PUFFINS aims to expand the available observations and address gaps in the understanding of interstellar dust.
The project is a collaborative effort involving the University of Arizona, McDonald Observatory and researchers from several institutions worldwide. Indian institutions participating in the mission include the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune, and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru.
Anche grew up in Devanahalli near Bengaluru and pursued her education and research in India before moving to the United States. She joined the Indian Institute of Astrophysics in 2012 and later completed her doctoral research there. She joined the University of Arizona’s Steward Observatory in 2021.
Her research interests include astronomical polarimetry, optical design, high-contrast imaging and space telescopes. She submitted the PUFFINS proposal while working as a postdoctoral researcher. The project was selected through NASA’s competitive proposal process under its Astrophysics Pioneers programme, which supports missions led by early-career scientists.
The mission will also involve graduate and undergraduate researchers in instrument design and development. Its findings could contribute to planning future space-based observations, including those associated with NASA’s proposed Habitable Worlds Observatory, which is intended to study potentially habitable planets beyond the solar system.
