Aditya L1 will observe the solar corona from a remote location
After successfully landing Chandrayaan-3 near the south pole of the Moon, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch its first space-based solar mission Aditya L1, on September 2, at 11:50 a.m. from the Sriharikota space centre.
Aditya L1 will observe the solar corona from a remote location at the Sun-Earth Lagrange point L1, which is about 1.5 kilometres from Earth.
Scientists expect to get new information about the past, present and future of the Sun after analysing the data that will be collected by the solar mission, according to PTI.
Aditya L1 will go up to the First Lagrangian point, about 1.5 million km from the Earth, and transmit the data much of which will come to the scientific community for the first time from a platform in space, said solar physicist Prof Dipankar Banerjee, who is part of a team which conceptualised the mission more than 10 years ago.
What is Lagrange Point 1?
Lagrangian points are where gravitational forces, acting between two objects, balance each other in such a way that the spacecraft can 'hover' for a longer period of time.
The L1 point is considered the most significant of the Lagrangian points, for solar observations, which were discovered by mathematician Joseph Louis Lagrange.
"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 solar activities and their effect on space weather in real-time," says ISRO.
India's first space-based observatory to study the Sun, the Aditya-L1 spacecraft, will be launched using the PSLV-C57 rocket.
The Aditya-L1 spacecraft will be equipped with seven payloads to study the Sun's corona, chromosphere, photosphere, and solar wind.