News Context: ISRO confirmed (Jan 2026) that one interplanetary dust particle (IDP) enters the Earth's atmosphere every 16 minutes.
- The Mission: DEX was a payload on the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM) during the PSLV-C58/XPoSat mission (2024).
- Significance: It is India’s first cosmic dust detector. It uses the hypervelocity principle to detect particles moving at over 4 km/s.
- Impact: 1. Spacecraft Safety: Protecting satellites from "sandblasting" effects.
2. Planetary Science: Understanding the "Meteor Layer" and atmospheric composition.
- Future: DEX provides a blueprint for studying dust on Mars, Venus, and the Moon.
UPSC - 2027 - Prelims cum Mains - Foundation Course / Orientation on 08-03-2026 
