Aditya-L1 solar mission: Countdown begins for India’s first sun expedition

Mangalore Today News Network / News18

New Delhi, Sep 1, 2023: After the success of its lunar landing programme - Chandrayaan-3, the Indian Space Research Organisation is now set to make history with the launch of its new mission to study the Sun. Aditya-L1 Solar Mission is India’s first mission to explore the Sun.

 

ISRO Chief S Somnath on Thursday said that the countdown for the start of the mission begins as the Aditya-L1 Solar Mission is all set for a launch on September 2 at 11.50 a.m. from the Sriharikota spaceport.

Aditya-L1 solar mission rehearsal successfully concludes

ISRO on Wednesday said the launch rehearsal and the rocket’s internal checks were completed. The spacecraft — the first space-based Indian observatory to study the Sun — would be launched by PSLV-C57 rocket.

“We are prepared for the launch. The rocket and satellite are ready. We completed the rehearsal for the launch. So tomorrow, we have to start the countdown for the day after tomorrow’s launch," Somanath told media.

Why is the Aditya-L1 solar mission important?

According to ISRO, the Aditya-L1 spacecraft is designed to provide remote observations of the solar corona and in situ observations of the solar wind at L1 (Sun-Earth Lagrangian point), which is about 1.5 million kilometres from the Earth.

For India, the success of the Aditya-L1 solar mission would be another major feat after India with the Chandrayaan-3 mission became the first country to land a spacecraft close to the lunar south pole in August.

If this space programme is successful, the Aditya-L1 solar mission will enter into a halo orbit around one of five Lagrange points. From there, Aditya-L1 is likely to capture an uninterrupted view of the sun and study its effect on environmental conditions in real-time in the vicinity of Earth and other planets.

Aditya-L1 solar mission: Cost

While ISRO has so far not released any official number or update on the cost of the Aditya-L1 solar mission, however, in 2019, the Centre sanctioned the equivalent of about $46 million for the Aditya-L1 solar mission.

Earlier, ISRO, in a social media post, said that the spacecraft — the first space-based Indian observatory to study the Sun — would be launched using a PSLV-C57 rocket. The agency also shared the first glimpse of the rocket that will carry the Aditya-L1 to space.