Aditya L1 Mission: India’s solar mission to be placed in final orbit today

Earlier, ISRO Chairman S Somnath had told ANI, “Aditya-L1 is going to reach its L1 point on January 6 and we are going to do the final maneuver to keep it there.”

Meanwhile, the satellite launched from Sriharikota on September 2 is expected to remain at this strategic location for the next five years. Located approximately 1.5 million km from Earth, Aditya-L1 will perform a critical maneuver upon reaching L1.

Also read: ISRO will study black holes; Launch of X-ray Polarimeter satellite today; Here’s everything you need to know

“It will go to that (L1) point between the Sun and Earth, and once it reaches that point, it will rotate around it and get stuck at L1,” the news agency quoted the ISRO chief as saying. PTI That being said.

The ISRO website highlights that upon reaching the L1 point, Aditya-L1 will undergo a maneuver to secure its orbit around L1. This orbital position is important, because L1 represents a stable gravitational point equidistant between the Earth and the Sun.

“The spacecraft is planned to be placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrangian point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system, which is approximately 1.5 million km from Earth,” ISRO said.

Also read: Aditya-L1: India’s first solar mission to reach destination 1.5 million km from Earth, says ISRO

According to PTI report, the ISRO chief had said that the data will be very useful in understanding the dynamics of the Sun and how it affects our lives. “Once it is successfully deployed at the L1 point, it will remain there for the next five years and collect all the data which is very important not only for India but for the entire world,” the ISRO chief said.

The Sun is a giant ball of gas and Aditya-L1 will study the Sun’s outer atmosphere. “Aditya-L1 will neither land on the Sun nor come close to the Sun,” the Indian Space Agency said.

Aditya L1 Mission

Aditya-L1, launched via Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C57) on September 2, 2023, stands as India’s leading space-based solar observatory. Dedicated to comprehensive investigation of the Sun, it is the country’s first mission in the line of observatories dedicated to solar studies.

Also read: Aditya-L1 mission: Solar wind ion spectrometer becomes operational, says ISRO

Equipped with seven payloads, the spacecraft is designed to observe different layers of the Sun, including the photosphere, chromosphere and the outermost layer called the corona. These observations use a combination of electromagnetic and particle detectors on Aditya-L1.

“Using the special vantage point of L1, four payloads will observe the Sun directly and the remaining three payloads will conduct in-situ studies of the particles and fields at the Lagrange point L1,” ISRO said.

Also read: Aditya-L1: ISRO says L1 point insertion will take place on January 6

The payload on Aditya L1 is expected to provide important data to understand issues related to coronal heating, coronal mass ejection, pre-flare and flare activities as well as their characteristics.

Additionally, the satellite aims to contribute to the understanding of space weather dynamics, the study of particle propagation, and the investigation of regions in the interplanetary medium.

(with inputs from agencies)

Milestone alert!
Livemint tops charts as fastest growing news website in the world Click here to find out more.

Unlock a world of benefits! From informative newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and personalized newsfeeds – it’s all here, just a click away! log in now!

Published: 06 January 2024, 06:29 AM IST