In a significant milestone for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Aditya-L1 – India's first dedicated solar mission – reached its final destination entering the halo orbit around Lagrange Point 1 (L1) on Saturday, 6 January.
On reaching its final destination, the spacecraft will be able to view the Sun without any eclipses.
In a tweet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "India creates yet another landmark. India's first solar observatory Aditya-L1 reaches it destination. It is a testament to the relentless dedication of our scientists in realising among the most complex and intricate space missions."
What Is Aditya L-1?
After the success of Chandrayaan-3, ISRO launched the Aditya L1 Solar Observatory spacecraft on 2 September 2023 to explore the different solar activities in real-time and their influence on space weather.
According to ISRO, the major objectives of Aditya L1 mission are:
Study of Solar upper atmospheric (chromosphere and corona) dynamics.
Development, dynamics and origin of CMEs.
Identify the sequence of processes that occur at multiple layers (chromosphere, base and extended corona), which eventually leads to solar eruptive events.
Magnetic field topology and magnetic field measurements in the solar corona.
Drivers for space weather (origin, composition and dynamics of solar wind).
Study of chromospheric and coronal heating, physics of the partially ionized plasma, initiation of the coronal mass ejections, and flares.
Observe the in-situ particle and plasma environment providing data for the study of particle dynamics from the Sun.
The spacecraft was 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 ISRO had said.
The overall budget of Aditya L1 is expected to be Rs 400 crore.
'Glorious Turn of Year'
Speaking to ANI, ISRO Chairman S Somanath said, "Today's event was only placing the Aditya-L1 in the precise Halo orbit. So it was moving towards a high orbit, but we had to do a little bit of corrections... So right now, in our calculation, it is at the right place. But we are going to monitor it for the next few hours to see whether it is at the right place."
"It was a complex mission, I won't say challenging mission. Challenges are something which we love, complexities are something which we have to overcome. Today, we have overcome the complexity, and we were able to achieve that very precisely. Payloads are working very well, but now, many more things are to be done on payloads to make sure that the data is reliable and usable, so that will start from now."S Somnath, as per Press Trust of India
Union Home Minister Amit Shah took to X to say: "Another milestone in Bharat's journey through space! Our first solar observatory #AdityaL1 reaches its destination in the space. It is a momentous event in history that takes us closer to our civilizational goal of achieving human welfare through excellence in science and technology."
"From Moon walk to Sun Dance! What a glorious turn of year for Bharat! Under the visionary leadership of PM @narendramodi , yet another success story scripted by Team #ISRO. #AdityaL1 reaches its final orbit to discover the mysteries of Sun-Earth connection," tweeted Union Minister of State Science & Technology Dr Jitendra Singh.
Congratulating ISRO scientists, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, "This achievement is a testament to the vision, commitment and sincere efforts by our founders who made sure that India’s space research becomes a vital part of nation building and social development."
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