ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) is set to carry out a significant manoeuvre for its Aditya-L1 solar mission on Saturday (January 6). This manoeuvre aims to position the spacecraft in its final destination orbit, approximately 1.5 million kilometres from Earth. Aditya-L1 is India’s inaugural space-based observatory designed to study the Sun.
The spacecraft will be placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrange Point 1 (L1) in the Sun-Earth system, a crucial move scheduled for around 4 pm on Saturday. The L1 point, located at about one percent of the distance between the Earth and the Sun, will offer Aditya-L1 a prime vantage point to continuously observe the Sun without occultation or eclipses, enabling real-time observations of solar activities and their impacts on space and Earth.
The manoeuvre is essential to bind Aditya-L1 to the halo orbit around L1, preventing it from continuing its journey towards the Sun. Launched on September 2, 2023, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre using ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C57), Aditya-L1 has been on a trajectory to reach the Lagrange Point 1.
With its unique position, Aditya-L1 will feature four payloads directly observing the Sun, while three others will conduct in-situ studies of particles and fields at the L1 point, facilitating critical scientific research on the propagatory effects of solar dynamics in the interplanetary medium.
The Aditya-L1 mission has several objectives, including studying chromospheric and coronal heating, exploring the physics of partially ionized plasma, investigating the initiation of coronal mass ejections and flares, and making observations on the in-situ particle and plasma environment for a comprehensive study of solar dynamics. The mission aims to enhance our understanding of the Sun’s behavior and its impact on space and Earth.
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