After successfully landing spacecraft on the moon’s South Pole, India is now aiming for the Sun. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is now gearing up for its maiden solar mission, Aditya-L1. ISRO chief S Somanath on Saturday shared major updates on the mission, saying that Aditya-L1 is ready and will be launched in the first week of September.
“We are planning to launch in the first week of September,” said ISRO chairman S. Somanath.
On August 14, Aditya-L1’s satellite arrived at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR) in Sriharikota from UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) in Bengaluru, where it was developed. ISRO shared the update on X (formerly Twitter).
Initially, Aditya-L1 was slated to launch on August 26, but as per the latest update, the mission will now be launched in the first week of September.
What Aditya-L1’s mission is all about?
Aditya-L1 will be India’s first space-based mission to study the Sun. The spacecraft of Aditya-L1 will 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.
Lagrange Points are positions in space where the gravitational forces of a two-body system the Sun and Earth produce enhanced regions of attraction and repulsion. These points are used by spacecraft as ‘parking spots’ in space to remain in a fixed position with minimal fuel consumption.
It aims to study solar winds, which can cause disturbance on Earth and are commonly seen as “auroras”.