NEW DELHI: Made-in-India semiconductor chips are powering key Indian space missions, supporting applications ranging from lunar and solar exploration to satellites and launch vehicles, Union electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Sunday.“Made in India chips are powering Indian Space Missions,” Vaishnaw said in a post on X on National Space Day.According to the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY), semiconductor components designed and manufactured domestically are being used across India’s space programme, strengthening the country’s push for technological self-reliance.A key contributor to this capability is the Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL) in Mohali, which develops and manufactures flight-grade semiconductor components designed to withstand the extreme conditions of space.SCL produces specialised components, including radiation-hardened chips, electro-optical CCD and CMOS imagers, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and sensors used to measure parameters such as pressure, acceleration, temperature and acoustics.
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These indigenous components have already been deployed in major Indian space missions, according to news agency ANI. The Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander carried an Indian-made camera chip developed by SCL Mohali for its imaging systems during the mission to the lunar surface.India’s solar mission, Aditya-L1, uses radiation-hardened analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) chips manufactured by SCL for scientific observations of the Sun.Indigenous semiconductor technology is also being used in launch vehicles. SCL’s Vikram processor is deployed in satellites and rockets, providing onboard computing capabilities required during missions.The ministry said the growing ability to design and manufacture critical space-grade semiconductor components domestically is strengthening technological independence across India’s space ecosystem.With India planning more space missions, locally manufactured chips are expected to play an increasingly important role in supporting the country’s scientific, satellite and launch infrastructure.
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