Bangalore: Aditya L1, India’s first mission to study the Sun is set to arrive at its designation orbit on January 6 evening, as informed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
The spacecraft launched on September 2, would get into what is known as a ‘halo orbit’ around the Lagrange point 1, one of the five spots in the moving Sun-Earth system, where the gravitational effects of the two bodies roughly balance each other.
The L1 point is about 1.5 million kilometers from the Earth. This is just 1 per cent of the total distance between the Earth and Sun.
The L1 point provides a unique perspective for continuous solar observation without the interruptions of eclipses. The mission objectives of Aditya-L1 include studying solar activities like coronal mass ejections and solar flares, which have significant implications for understanding space weather and its effects on satellite communications and power grids on Earth.
Till Wednesday, Aditya had successfully completed 124 days in space. Since September 18, Aditya had started collecting scientific data and imaging the Sun. The scientists have, so far, obtained the first sneak peek into high-energy X-ray of solar flares, full solar disc images and others.
On January 6 around 4 pm, ISRO Scientists and Engineers from the Mission Operations Complex of ISTRAC will perform the crucial manoeuvre which will bind Aditya-L1 to an orbit around L1.
Speaking about te final burn, Isro Chairman S Somanath said the success of the mission will depend on the crucial firing maneuver scheduled for January 6. Explaining the process, Somanath said: “If we do not do the final burn, the spacecraft will jump and go on its way farther distances, towards the Sun because it has a bigger body.”
