Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the country on the success of Chandrayaan-3's successful touchdown on lunar surface on Wednesday, announced another ambitious project of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
"For comprehensive study of the sun, the ISRO is now going to accomplish ADITYA L-1 mission. Venus is also amongst the one of the aims of the ISRO," PM Modi said.
What is Aditya L-1?
ISRO's upcoming Aditya L-1 mission, anticipated for launch by the end of August or early September, stands out for its remarkable uniqueness. This endeavor, considered the Indian space agency's most intricate mission to date, introduces several distinctive elements.
Notably, India is venturing into the creation of a 'space observatory' for the first time. The spacecraft is designed to incessantly observe the Sun, maintaining a vigilant watch on the celestial body round the clock, 24x7.
India has yet to position a spacecraft at a Lagrange point, a distinct location situated between substantial celestial bodies such as the Sun and the Earth. At this point, the gravitational forces exerted by these entities balance out, effectively keeping the spacecraft in a stable position. Accomplishing this feat requires exceptional skill in navigating the spacecraft to its designated position, located precisely 1.5 million km away from Earth, nestled between our planet and the Sun. Moreover, maintaining the spacecraft's stability at this point presents an even greater challenge.
Within the Sun-Earth system, five Lagrange points exist, with Aditya slated for placement at Lagrange-1.
The two primary instruments carried by Aditya L-1, namely SUIT and VELC, are entirely domestically produced, crafted by Indian researchers. Notably, VELC will perform 'spectropolarimetric measurements' aimed at studying the Sun's magnetic field, marking a pioneering endeavor by any country to do so from space. Consequently, the data generated by these instruments will substantially enrich scientific knowledge.
ISRO on Aditya L-1
As per ISRO's website, "Aditya L1 shall be the first space based Indian mission to study the Sun. The spacecraft shall be placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrange point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system, which is about 1.5 million km from the Earth. A satellite placed in the halo orbit around the L1 point has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation/eclipses. This will provide a greater advantage of observing the solar activities and its effect on space weather in real time. The spacecraft carries seven payloads to observe the photosphere, chromosphere and the outermost layers of the Sun (the corona) using electromagnetic and 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."
"The suits of Aditya L1 payloads are expected to provide most crucial informations to understand the problem of coronal heating, coronal mass ejection, pre-flare and flare activities and their characteristics, dynamics of space weather, propagation of particle and fields etc," the website says.
The primary objectives of Aditya L-1 encompass:
Investigating the dynamics of the solar upper atmosphere, including the chromosphere and corona.
Scrutinizing the mechanisms behind the heating of the chromosphere and corona, as well as comprehending the physics of partially ionized plasma, the initiation of coronal mass ejections, and solar flares.
Collecting in-situ particle and plasma data to facilitate the study of solar particle dynamics.
Delving into the physics governing the solar corona and its heating process.
Employing diagnostics to assess the temperature, velocity, and density of coronal and coronal loop plasma.
Analyzing the development, dynamics, and origins of coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
Identifying the sequential processes taking place at various layers (such as the chromosphere, base, and extended corona) that culminate in solar eruptive events.
Investigating the magnetic field topology and measuring magnetic fields within the solar corona.
Uncovering the factors responsible for space weather, including the origin, composition, and dynamics of the solar wind.
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