ISRO’s Space Observatory to Study Sun Getting Ready for Launch

Bengaluru: ISRO will soon launch Aditya-L1, India’s first space-based observatory to study the Sun.

The satellite, Aditya-L1 manufactured at U R Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru has reached the ISRO’s spaceport in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

It is expected to be launched into space in September first week.

The spacecraft is expected to be placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrange point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system, which is about 1.5 million kilometres from the Earth.

The spacecraft carries seven payloads to observe the photosphere, chromosphere and the outermost layers of the Sun (the corona) using electromagnetic and particle and magnetic field detectors.

The major objectives of the Aditya-L1 mission are: study of solar upper atmospheric (chromosphere and corona) dynamics; study of chromospheric and coronal heating, physics of the partially ionised plasma, initiation of the coronal mass ejections, and flares; observe the in-situ particle and plasma environment providing data for the study of particle dynamics from the Sun; physics of solar corona and its heating mechanism; diagnostics of the coronal and coronal loops plasma: temperature, velocity and density; development, dynamics and origin of coronal mass ejections; identify the sequence of processes that occur at multiple layers (chromosphere, base and extended corona) which eventually leads to solar eruptive events; magnetic field topology and magnetic field measurements in the solar corona; drivers for space weather (origin, composition and dynamics of solar wind).