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At 11:50 am Aditya-L1, the nation’s maiden mission to study the Sun, took off from the second launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-Shar) at Sriharikota on a PSLV-C57 rocket. Aditya-L1 signifies India’s entry into the frontiers of solar research and will be a big leap in comprehending the sun’s complex phenomena.
The Aditya-L1 mission is the first space-based observatory-class Indian solar mission to study the Sun. Understanding the sun’s activities and being able to predict space weather is crucial to protecting satellites, space-based technologies, and astronauts from hazardous radiation.
PSLV-C57 lifted-off successfully carrying #AdityaL1 satellite, which is India’s first mission to study Sun.@NewIndianXpress @isro pic.twitter.com/DwmndwXeK9
— S V Krishna Chaitanya (@Krish_TNIE) September 2, 2023
The Aditya-L1 mission was jointly developed by several Indian research institutions including the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), and Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA). The spacecraft and instruments are designed to withstand the challenging environment of solar radiation. It will be placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrangian point (L1) of the Sun-Earth system. When placed in the halo orbit around the L1 point, the satellite has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation/eclipses. This will provide a greater advantage of observing solar activities and their effect on space weather in real-time. The journey to the designated mission site is a staggering 1.5 million km from the Earth and will take about four months to cover.
In the context of rising global warming, Aditya-L1 will collaborate with other solar missions like NASA’s Parker Solar Probe and ESA/NASA’s Solar Orbiter mission to provide observation over different areas and from multiple angles.
READ MORE | Aditya L1: Study of solar quakes must as they affect the geomagnetic field, says IIA scientist
Aditya-L1 carried seven indigenously developed payloads to observe the photosphere, chromosphere and the outermost layers of the Sun (the corona) using electromagnetic particle and magnetic field detectors. Using the special vantage point L1, four payloads directly view the Sun and the remaining three payloads carry out in-situ studies of particles and fields at the Lagrange point L1, thus providing important scientific studies of the propagatory effect of solar dynamics in the interplanetary medium.
Seven payloads
The Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) payload studies the solar corona and dynamics of Coronal Mass Ejections.
The Solar Ultra-violet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) payload images the Solar Photosphere and Chromosphere in near Ultra-violet (UV) and also measures the solar irradiance variations in near UV.
The Aditya Solar Wind Particle EXperiment (ASPEX) and Plasma Analyser Package for Aditya (PAPA) payloads study the solar wind and energetic ions, as well as their energy distribution.
The Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS) and the High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer (HEL1OS) study the X-ray flares from the Sun over a wide X-ray energy range.
The Magnetometer payload is capable of measuring interplanetary magnetic fields at the L1 point.
The Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC), the primary payload of Aditya L1 will be sending 1,440 images per day to the ground station for analysis on reaching the intended orbit.
VELC, “the largest and technically most challenging” payload on Aditya-L1, was integrated, tested, and calibrated at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics’s (IIA) CREST (Centre for Research and Education in Science Technology) campus in Hoskote.
ALSO READ | Meet Nigar Shaji from TN’s Tenkasi, Aditya-L1 mission project director
At 11:50 am Aditya-L1, the nation’s maiden mission to study the Sun, took off from the second launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-Shar) at Sriharikota on a PSLV-C57 rocket. Aditya-L1 signifies India’s entry into the frontiers of solar research and will be a big leap in comprehending the sun’s complex phenomena.
The Aditya-L1 mission is the first space-based observatory-class Indian solar mission to study the Sun. Understanding the sun’s activities and being able to predict space weather is crucial to protecting satellites, space-based technologies, and astronauts from hazardous radiation.
PSLV-C57 lifted-off successfully carrying #AdityaL1 satellite, which is India’s first mission to study Sun.@NewIndianXpress @isro pic.twitter.com/DwmndwXeK9googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
— S V Krishna Chaitanya (@Krish_TNIE) September 2, 2023
The Aditya-L1 mission was jointly developed by several Indian research institutions including the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), and Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA). The spacecraft and instruments are designed to withstand the challenging environment of solar radiation.
It will be placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrangian point (L1) of the Sun-Earth system. When placed in the halo orbit around the L1 point, the satellite has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation/eclipses. This will provide a greater advantage of observing solar activities and their effect on space weather in real-time. The journey to the designated mission site is a staggering 1.5 million km from the Earth and will take about four months to cover.
In the context of rising global warming, Aditya-L1 will collaborate with other solar missions like NASA’s Parker Solar Probe and ESA/NASA’s Solar Orbiter mission to provide observation over different areas and from multiple angles.
READ MORE | Aditya L1: Study of solar quakes must as they affect the geomagnetic field, says IIA scientist
Aditya-L1 carried seven indigenously developed payloads to observe the photosphere, chromosphere and the outermost layers of the Sun (the corona) using electromagnetic particle and magnetic field detectors. Using the special vantage point L1, four payloads directly view the Sun and the remaining three payloads carry out in-situ studies of particles and fields at the Lagrange point L1, thus providing important scientific studies of the propagatory effect of solar dynamics in the interplanetary medium.
Seven payloads
The Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) payload studies the solar corona and dynamics of Coronal Mass Ejections.
The Solar Ultra-violet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) payload images the Solar Photosphere and Chromosphere in near Ultra-violet (UV) and also measures the solar irradiance variations in near UV.
The Aditya Solar Wind Particle EXperiment (ASPEX) and Plasma Analyser Package for Aditya (PAPA) payloads study the solar wind and energetic ions, as well as their energy distribution.
The Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS) and the High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer (HEL1OS) study the X-ray flares from the Sun over a wide X-ray energy range.
The Magnetometer payload is capable of measuring interplanetary magnetic fields at the L1 point.
The Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC), the primary payload of Aditya L1 will be sending 1,440 images per day to the ground station for analysis on reaching the intended orbit.
VELC, “the largest and technically most challenging” payload on Aditya-L1, was integrated, tested, and calibrated at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics’s (IIA) CREST (Centre for Research and Education in Science Technology) campus in Hoskote.
ALSO READ | Meet Nigar Shaji from TN’s Tenkasi, Aditya-L1 mission project director
