India’s maiden solar mission, Aditya-L1, has entered the countdown phase, with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief S Somanath emphasizing the importance of the upcoming launch. The satellite is set to take 125 days to reach the L1 point, where it will carry out its solar observations.
Ahead of the scheduled launch on September 2 at 11.50 am from the Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh, Somanath visited the Chengalamma Parameshwari Temple in Tirupati district to offer prayers.
“Today the countdown of Aditya L1 is starting, and it will launch tomorrow around 11.50 am. Aditya L1 satellite is for studying our Sun. It will take another 125 days to reach the L1 point. This is a very important launch,” Somanath stated.
He also mentioned the ISRO’s future plans, saying, “We have not yet decided (Chandrayaan-4), but we will announce it soon. After Aditya L1, our next launch is Gaganyaan, it will take place by the first week of October.”
Aditya-L1 is India’s inaugural solar space observatory and will be launched by the PSLV-C57 rocket. It will carry seven different payloads designed for a detailed study of the sun. Four of these payloads will observe sunlight, while the remaining three will measure in-situ parameters related to plasma and magnetic fields.
The mission’s most substantial and technically challenging payload is the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC), which was integrated, tested, and calibrated in collaboration with ISRO at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics’ CREST campus in Hosakote.
Aditya-L1 will be positioned in a halo orbit around Lagrangian Point 1 (L1), located 1.5 million km from Earth in the direction of the sun. This strategic position will allow the satellite to continuously observe the sun without interruptions from eclipses or occultation events, enabling real-time monitoring of solar activities and their impact on space weather. The data collected will contribute to a better understanding of solar events, such as Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) and flares, and their effects on near-earth space weather.
Among the mission’s primary objectives are the study of solar corona physics, heating mechanisms, solar wind dynamics, the solar atmosphere, solar wind distribution, and more. The VELC instrument, similar to a coronagraph, will capture images of the sun’s faint corona by blocking out the bright solar disk.
India’s Aditya-L1 solar mission represents a significant step in advancing our understanding of the sun and its impact on space weather and communication systems on Earth.
