[Source : WION]
Aditya-L1, India’s first mission to study the Sun, is set to conduct a complex manoeuvre that will insert it into the halo orbit around Lagrange Point 1 (L1) – considered to be the most significant of the Lagrangian points for observation of the Sun.
The insertion into L1, a point of gravitation equilibrium between the Earth and the Sun, is a critical phase of the mission that requires precise navigation and control. According to scientists, the meticulous process involves ensuring that the spacecraft maintains its trajectory to successfully enter the halo orbit.
Aditya L1: ISRO’s first solar mission to enter L1 Halo Orbit by January 6, 2024
Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman Dr S Somnath last week reiterated that the mission would enter the L1 point on January 6.
“Aditya L1 will enter the L1 point on January 6. That is what is expected. Exact time will be announced at appropriate time,” said Somnath.
“When it reaches the L1 point, we have to fire the engine once again so that it does not go further. It will go to that point, and once it reaches that point, it will rotate around it and will be trapped at L1,” he added.
Notably, once Aditya-L1 is placed in the specific spot, it will remain there for the next five years, gathering data which is important not only for India but for the entire world as well.
Aditya-L1 mission
India’s maiden sun mission was launched on September 2 from the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota.
Aditya-L1 is equipped with seven scientific payloads developed indigenously by the ISRO and various national research laboratories. The Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) is one of the most important payloads and has been developed by a team of 50 scientists, researchers and students at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune.
Apart from IUCAA, the researchers at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) have also contributed to developing the payloads.
These payloads are designed to study the photosphere, chromosphere, and the outermost layers of the Sun, known as the corona, using electromagnetic, particle, and magnetic field detectors.
Earlier this month, ISRO shared the first-ever full disk images of the Sun in near ultraviolet wavelengths, captured by Aditya-L1 using SUIT. Sunspots, plage and the quiet sun regions were captured in the photographs.
(With inputs from agencies)
