On September 2nd, Sriharikota experienced something.
India’s first solar mission, Aditya L1, started a 125-day trip to the Sun. Its goal is to study different aspects of our closest star. The mission was launched using a PSLV rocket, which achieved a new technical achievement in the field of launch vehicles.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh, who was present at the Mission Control Centre (MCC) here, called it a special moment for the country.
“Congratulations The Aditya-L1 spacecraft has been placed in a specific oval-shaped orbit of 235/19,500 km by the PSLV rocket. This was a unique mission where the upper stage of the rocket had to burn twice to put the main satellite in orbit for the first time,” explained ISRO Chairman S Somanath at the MCC.
I would like to praise PSLV for their unique approach in today’s mission to properly place Aditya L1 into its orbit. Starting now, the Aditya L1 will begin its mission. After some movements in space, it will embark on a very long journey of nearly 125 days towards the L1 point. “So let’s hope for the best for the Aditya L1 spacecraft as it travels a long distance to be placed in the L1 Halo orbit,” he mentioned.
The spacecraft has traveled a long way from Earth, about 1. 5 million km, over 125 days. It will soon be put in a Halo orbit around a point called L1, which is the closest spot to the Sun.
It will send sun pictures for scientific experiments, among other things.
Scientists have discovered that there are five special points between the Earth and the Sun where a small object can stay in place. These points are similar to parking areas in space. The Lagrange Points are places in space named after a mathematician called Joseph-Louis Lagrange. He wrote an important paper in 1772. The Sun is a big ball of gas and Aditya-L1 is a mission that will study the outside layer of the Sun. ISRO said that Aditya-L1 will not land on or get close to the Sun.
The Aditya-L1 mission aims to study the heating of the sun’s outer layer, the speeding up of solar winds, powerful bursts of solar energy, the movement of the sun’s atmosphere, and the differences in temperature.
On Saturday, a spacecraft called Aditya-L1 was launched. It weighs about 1,480. 7 kg and will stay in orbits around Earth for 16 days. During this time, it will do five maneuvers to increase its speed before it starts its journey towards the Sun.
Nigar Shaji, the person in charge of the project, said that the team Aditya L1 was extremely happy because their dream had finally become a reality.
I am very happy that Aditya L1 has been put into orbit perfectly by PSLV just like always. Aditya L1 solar panels are being used and everything is going well, she said.
When Aditya L1 is put into operation, it will be very valuable for studying the sun for India and also for scientists worldwide, Shaji said.
When Aditya-L1 gets to L1, it does a special move that makes it go in a circle around a point.
This point is in the middle of the Earth and the Sun, and has a balanced gravity.
The spacecraft spends its entire mission, which lasts for five years, orbiting around a point called L1. The orbit of the spacecraft is not a perfect circle, and it is in a plane that is mostly at a right angle to the line connecting the Earth and the Sun. This information was provided by ISRO.
At the L1 Lagrange point, the spacecraft is positioned in a way that allows it to always keep watching the Sun without any breaks or interruptions. This area also enables the satellite to detect solar energy and magnetic storms before they are affected by Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere, according to the space agency.
Furthermore, the L1 point’s gravitational stability reduces the need for regular adjustments to the spacecraft’s orbit, which improves its efficiency.
Aditya-L1 will be about 1. 5 million km away from Earth, pointed towards the Sun. This is about 1% of the distance between Earth and the Sun.
It has seven scientific tools to do the research.
The Visible Emission Line Coronagraph is a device that studies the outer layer of the sun and the movement of large explosions from the sun. It will send 1,440 pictures every day to a station on the ground for analysis once it reaches its planned path around the Earth.
The Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope takes pictures of the sun’s surface and atmosphere using a special type of light. It also measures changes in the amount of solar energy.
The Aditya Solar Wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX) and Plasma Analyser Package for Aditya (PAPA) payloads examine the solar wind and powerful ions, including how energy is distributed.
The Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer and the High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer (HEL1OS) watch the Sun’s X-ray flares at various X-ray energy levels.
The Magnetometer can measure magnetic fields in space at a specific point called L1.
Aditya-L1’s Science equipment are created within India with the help of different ISRO centers working together.
Union Minister Singh, who is in charge of Science and Technology, said, “While everyone was eagerly waiting, this is a great moment for India. ” He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving new opportunities to India’s space industry and showing that there are no boundaries in the sky.
He also said thank you to the Prime Minister for providing the belief, bravery, and certainty to explore the stars and uncover the secrets of the universe.
Other space agencies that have already sent solar missions into space include NASA from the United States, JAXA from Japan, and the ESA from Europe.
The Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S) was launched in 2022 by the National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and it was a success. PTI is a political party.