INDIAN

SPACE SCIENCE

OLYMPIAD 2025

Syllabus

Junior Category (Grade 5,6,7)

Preliminary Level (Online Exam)

1. Artificial Satellites & Space Technology

• Kepler’s Laws and planetary orbits
• Different types of satellite orbits (LEO, MEO, GEO, etc.)
• Fundamentals of rocketry

2. Indian Space Program

• History of Indian space research
• Centers and Units of ISRO
• Indian rockets and launch vehicles
• Indian satellites and space missions
• ISRO’s future missions, including human spaceflight

3. Observational Astronomy

• Basics of the night sky
• Rising and setting of celestial objects
• Constellations and asterisms
• Celestial coordinate systems

4. Earth-Moon System

• Tilt of Earth’s axis and seasons
• Moon phases, tidal forces, and tidal locking
• Lunar and solar eclipses
• Formation and evolution of the Moon

Final Level (Offline Exam) – Junior Category

1. Telescopes and Observatories

• Working of telescopes
• Types of telescopes (Optical, Radio, X-ray, etc.)
• Major observatories in India
• Space-based telescopes and their importance

2. Measuring the Cosmos

• Measurement of distances (Parallax method, Standard Candle method)
• Cosmic scale and units of measurement

3. Stellar Physics

• Atomic spectra and the Doppler effect
• Basics of nuclear physics—fusion in stars, nuclear reactions
• Energy generation in stars

4. Stellar Evolution

• Life cycle of stars—protostars, main sequence, red giants, white dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes

5. Cosmology and the Universe

• Expanding universe, Hubble’s law
• Big Bang theory, evolution of the universe
• Cosmic microwave background (CMB)
• Dark matter and dark energy
• Large-scale structure of the universe

6. Exoplanets and Future Space Exploration

• Exoplanets and methods of exoplanet detection
• Possibility of life

Senior & Super Senior Category (Grade 8 to 12)

Preliminary Level (Online Examination)

1. Gravity and Orbits

• Newton’s law of gravitation
• Kepler’s laws and planetary orbits
• Escape velocity and orbital velocity

2. Artificial Satellites & Space Technology

• Different types of satellite orbits (LEO, MEO, GEO, etc.)
• Fundamentals of rocketry

3. Indian Space Program

• History of Indian space research
• Centers and Units of ISRO
• Indian rockets and launch vehicles
• Indian satellites and space missions
• ISRO’s future missions, including human spaceflight

4. Observational Astronomy

• Basics of the night sky
• Rising and setting of celestial objects
• Constellations and asterisms
• Celestial coordinate systems

5. Earth-Moon System

• Tilt of Earth’s axis and seasons
• Moon phases, tidal forces, and tidal locking
• Lunar and solar eclipses
• Formation and evolution of the Moon

Final Level Offline Examination – Senior and Super Senior

1. Telescopes and Observatories

• Working of telescopes
• Types of telescopes (Optical, Radio, X-ray, etc.)
• Major observatories in India
• Space-based telescopes and their importance

2. Measuring the Cosmos

• Measurement of distances (Parallax method, Standard Candle method, Redshift method)
• Cosmic scale and units of measurement

3. Stellar Physics

• Atomic spectra and the Doppler effect
• Basics of nuclear physics—fusion in stars, nuclear reactions
• Energy generation in stars
• Sun and Space Weather

4. Stellar Evolution

• Life cycle of stars—protostars, main sequence, red giants, white dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes
• HR Diagram

5. Cosmology and the Universe

• Expanding universe, Hubble’s law
• Big Bang theory, evolution of the universe
• Cosmic microwave background (CMB)
• Dark matter and dark energy
• Large-scale structure of the universe

6. Exoplanets and Future Space Exploration

• • Methods of exoplanet detection (Transit, Radial Velocity, Direct Imaging)