INDIA’S FIRST MISSION TO STUDY SUN, ‘MISSION ADITYA-L1’

Latest Context

India’s ISRO is planning to launch India’s first space-based Indian observatory to study the Sun titled Aditya-L1. It will be launched from SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota.

Objective: It will provide crucial information in order to understand the problems of coronal heating, coronal mass ejection, pre-flare and flare activities and their characteristics, the dynamics of space weather, propagation of particles and fields etc.

Details of Aditya-L1

• The spacecraft shall be 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 an edge to continuously view the Sun without any occultation/eclipses
• It will carry seven payloads. It will study the photosphere, chromosphere, and outermost layers of the Sun (the corona) using electromagnetic and particle and magnetic field detectors
• Payloads and Scientific Instruments

• VELC (Visible Emission Line Coronagraph): It will lay emphasis on studying the corona through imaging and spectroscopy, along with observing coronal mass ejections.
• SUIT (Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope): It will gather images of the photosphere and chromosphere in order to measure solar irradiance variations and facilitate narrow and broadband imaging.
• SoLEXS (Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer) and HEL1OS (High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer): They will study X-ray flares over a wide energy range, providing insights into the Sun’s X-ray emissions.
• ASPEX (Aditya Solar Wind Particle Experiment) and PAPA (Plasma Analyzer Package For Aditya): These tools will analyze electrons, protons, and energetic ions in the solar wind that will assist in understanding the solar particle environment.
• Advanced Tri-axial High-Resolution Digital Magnetometers: This payload will examine the interplanetary magnetic field at L1, revealing crucial information about solar magnetic dynamics.

Significance

• India’s Aditya L1 represents a significant stride towards understanding our sun’s intricacies and its far-reaching effects on our planet.
• Additionally, from improving space weather forecasting to contributing to climate research, this solar space observatory stands as a testament to India’s commitment to sustainable and innovative solutions
• It will observe solar activities and their effects on space weather in real-time.

Other solar missions

• Parker Solar Probe (NASA)
• Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (European Space Agency)
• Kuafu-1 solar probe (China) etc.

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