India’s first solar probe 'Aditya L1' reaches the final milestone

India’s first solar observatory, , has reached its destination orbit around a special point in space, where it will have an uninterrupted view of the Sun. The spacecraft entered the orbit around the Sun Earth Lagrange point 1 (L1), about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, on January 6, following a maneuver by its engines.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the President of India congratulated the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the scientists involved in the mission via X/Twitter. India creates yet another landmark. India’s first solar observatory Aditya L1 reaches it’s destination. It is a testament to the relentless dedication of our scientists in realising among the most complex and intricate space missions.

I join the nation in applauding this… Aditya L1 was the country’s first mission to study the Sun and its various phenomena, such as coronal heating, solar wind, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections. These phenomena affect the space weather and the climate on Earth and can also pose hazards to satellites and astronauts.

By observing the Sun from L1, Aditya L1 will avoid interference from the Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field. It can monitor the Sun continuously for at least five years, with a possibility of extension. The spacecraft was launched on September 2 last year, on board the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV C57) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

The launch came just days after India achieved another milestone in space exploration by becoming the fourth country to land a robotic probe on the Moon, Chandrayaan 3. Aditya L1 carries seven scientific instruments, all developed indigenously by ISRO and various research institutes in India. The instruments are designed to measure different aspects of the Sun’s activity, such as its magnetic field, temperature, radiation, and particles.

The main instrument is the , which will create artificial eclipses of the Sun and allow the observation of its outer atmosphere, or corona. The corona is where most of the solar phenomena originate and is also the source of the solar wind, a stream of charged particles that flows from the Sun and interacts with the Earth’s magnetosphere.

The other instruments include an , which will capture images of the Sun in different wavelengths of ultraviolet light and reveal the structure and dynamics of the solar chromosphere, the layer below the corona. The and the will measure the intensity and spectrum of the X rays emitted by the Sun and provide information about the temperature and energy of the solar flares.

The and the will analyze the composition and properties of the solar wind particles, and the Magnetometer will measure the strength and direction of the magnetic field around the spacecraft. For comparison, the James Webb Space Telescope, launched in December last year, operates at the Sun Earth Lagrange point 2 (L2), another stable point in space, but in the opposite direction from the Sun.

The Webb telescope is designed to observe distant galaxies and stars and search for signs of life in the universe. ISRO has released some of the first images of the Sun taken by Aditya L1’s UIT instrument, which show the Sun in stunning detail and clarity. The images reveal the features of the solar surface, such as sunspots, granules, and filaments, as well as the activity in the solar atmosphere, such as prominences, loops, and jets.

The images also show the variation of the solar brightness and contrast across different wavelengths of ultraviolet light. Aditya L1 Mission: The SUIT payload captures full disk images of the Sun in near ultraviolet wavelengths The images include the first ever full disk representations of the Sun in wavelengths ranging from 200 to 400 nm.

They provide pioneering insights into the intricate details… ISRO said the images are “very high quality” and “exceed the expectations.” The agency also said that the other instruments on board Aditya L1 are functioning well and will start sending data soon. The data from Aditya L1 will be made available to the scientific community and the public and will help advance the understanding of the Sun and its influence on the Earth and the solar system.

In addition to that, in low Earth orbit, another ISRO mission is conducting a series of experiments that launched the on January 1. The upper stage hosts a payload called PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM) 3, which carries several experiments related to space technology and science. POEM 3 on PSLV C58: VSSC/ISRO successfully tests a 100 W class Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell on PSLV C58's orbital platform, POEM3.

Powering missions with efficiency and emitting only water, these fuel cells are the future for power production in… Some experiments include testing tantalum based coatings, fuel cells, small thrusters, interplanetary dust measurements, and more. The experiments are arranged by ISRO and the National Space Promotion Authorization Center (IN SPACe), a government agency set up to regulate and authorize commercial space activities in India..