ISRO Achieves Success with Aditya-L1 Solar Mission
In a significant development, ISRO has reached a new milestone with the successful completion of the first earth-bound maneuver by the Aditya-L1 spacecraft. Launched by ISRO on September 2, this achievement, along with Chandrayaan-3, highlights India’s remarkable success in the realm of space exploration.
Aditya-L1’s first Earthbound Manoevre
As announced by ISRO on the X platform, Aditya-L1 has successfully completed ISTRAC’s first ground-directed maneuver. ISRO also said the satellite is healthy and performing nominal operations. The mission’s next flight is scheduled for September 5, 2023 at around 03:00. IST.
Aditya – L1 assignment
Aditya-L1, India’s ambitious solar mission, was launched from Sriharikota with the primary objective of exploring the outer atmosphere of our Sun. The spacecraft is equipped with seven separate payloads, four of which monitor sunlight, while the other three measure in situ parameters related to plasma and magnetic fields.
One of the unique aspects of this mission is the positioning of Aditya-L1. It will be placed in a halo orbit around Lagrangian point 1 (L1), which is about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth in the direction of the Sun. This strategic location allows Aditya-L1 to observe the Sun continuously without being affected by eclipses or occultation events, providing scientists with real-time data to study solar activity and its impact on space weather.
The primary goals of the Indian solar mission are to gain insights into the physics of the solar corona, understand the mechanism behind its heating, study the acceleration of the solar wind, and study the dynamics of the solar system. In addition, the goal of the mission is to study the distribution of the solar wind, temperature anisotropy, the origin of Coronal Mass Ejections (CME), flares and their effect on the Earth’s near-space weather.
ISRO’s consistent achievements in space research demonstrate India’s growing prowess in space and technology. As Aditya-L1 continues its journey towards the Sun, the world is eagerly awaiting the discovery of various secrets of the Sun.
