Aditya-L1: India’s Historic Sun Mission Achieves Orbit Success-ai image
India’s first mission to study the Sun, called Aditya-L1, has successfully arrived at its destination after a four-month journey. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) shared on Monday that the spacecraft completed its final move and is now in a stable orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrange point 1 (L1), located about 1.5 million km from Earth.
In this unique orbit, known as a halo orbit, the spacecraft can stay in a fixed position relative to both the Sun and Earth. Aditya-L1, launched on September 2, 2023, carries seven scientific instruments to observe and study different parts of the Sun, like its corona, photosphere, chromosphere, and solar wind.
The mission aims to improve our understanding of the Sun’s behavior and its impact on Earth’s climate and space weather. It will provide crucial data for better predicting solar storms and flares that might affect communication and navigation systems on Earth.
ISRO’s chief, Sreedhara Panicker Somanath, praised the Aditya-L1 team for completing the mission’s critical phase successfully. The spacecraft is in good health and ready to begin its scientific operations. Somanath also expressed gratitude to the global scientific community for their support, highlighting Aditya-L1 as a significant milestone in India’s space exploration, contributing to the global effort to understand the Sun.
Aditya-L1, India’s first dedicated solar mission, is expected to last for five years, providing valuable data and images of the Sun during its mission duration.
