Aditya L1 solar mission explained in 10 simple points

Aditya L1 solar mission will study the outer atmosphere of the Sun (Image credit: ISRO)

India is aiming for the Sun today with the Aditya L1 solar mission. The Aditya L1 mission to study the Sun is slated to be launched at 11.50 am from the Sriharikota spaceport on Saturday, September 2. The launch comes just days after India tasted success with the Chandryaan-3 mission, becoming the first country to achieve a soft landing near the south pole of the moon.

Ahead of the Aditya L1 launch, here are a few quick facts about the mission, as shared by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO):

1. Aditya L1 is a satellite to study the Sun. ISRO's PSLV C57 will carry the Aditya L1 mission on a 125-day voyage to the Sun. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is an expendable launch vehicle designed and operated by ISRO.

3. There are five Lagrange Points between the Earth and the Sun. The Aditya L1 satellite will be placed around Lagrange Point 1, or L1.

4. Aditya-L1 will stay approximately 1.5 million km away from Earth, which is about 1% of the Earth-Sun distance.

5. The satellite spends its whole mission life orbiting around L1 in an irregularly shaped orbit in a plane roughly perpendicular to the line joining the Earth and the Sun.

6. Aditya-L1 will neither land on the Sun nor approach the Sun any closer. It will study the outer atmosphere of the Sun.

7. After its launch on September 2, 2023, from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, Aditya-L1 will stay in Earth-bound orbits for 16 days. During this time, it will undergo five maneuvres to gain the necessary velocity for its journey.

8. After this, the satellite will undergo a Trans-Lagrangian1 insertion maneuvre, marking the beginning of its 110-day voyage to Lagrange Point 1.

9. Aditya L1 has 7 distinct payloads, all developed indigenously. The payloads will observe the photosphere, chromosphere, and the outermost layers of the Sun (the corona) using electromagnetic and particle detectors.

10. The suit of Aditya L1 payloads are expected to provide crucial information to understand the problems of coronal heating, Coronal Mass Ejection, pre-flare and flare activities and their characteristics, dynamics of space weather and more.

(With inputs from PTI)