Aditya-L1: ISRO all set to launch India's first solar mission
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to for India's maiden solar mission, Aditya-L1, which is scheduled to be launched on September 2, 2023, at 11:50 am.
Aditya-L1 is India's first solar space observatory and will be launched by the PSLV-C57 from the Sriharikota launch pad with launch rehearsal and vehicle internal checks all being completed.
It will carry seven different payloads to have a detailed study of the sun, four of which will observe the light from the sun and the other three will measure in-situ parameters of the plasma and magnetic fields.
The largest and technically most challenging payload on Aditya-L1 is the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph or VELC. VELC was integrated, tested, and calibrated at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics' CREST (Centre for Research and Education in Science Technology) campus in Hosakote in collaboration with ISRO.
Aditya-L1 will be placed in a halo orbit around Lagrangian Point 1 (or L1), which is 1.5 million km away from the Earth in the direction of the sun.
It is expected to cover the distance in four months' time.
This strategic location will enable Aditya-L1 to continuously observe the sun without being hindered by eclipses or occultation, allowing scientists to study solar activities and their impact on space weather in real-time. Also, the spacecraft's data will help identify the sequence of processes that lead to solar eruptive events and contribute to a deeper understanding of space weather drivers.
Major objectives of India's solar mission include the study of the physics of solar corona and its heating mechanism, the solar wind acceleration, coupling and dynamics of the solar atmosphere, solar wind distribution and temperature anisotropy, and origin
