The Make-or-Break Launch of India's Aditya – L1 Mission to the Sun

The Indian Space Research Organisation’s Aditya-L1 mission is set to be the country’s first dedicated solar mission. ISRO announced the launch of the Aditya-L1 satellite in April 2019, with a planned launch date sometime in 2023. The satellite is designed to study the Sun’s corona, or outer atmosphere. It will be placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrangian point 1, which is located 1.5 million kilometres from Earth. This will be the first time that India has launched a mission to study the Sun. The Aditya-L1 mission will also be used to test new technologies for future missions, including a sunshield and a miniaturised imaging spectrometer.

What is the ISRO Aditya – L1 Mission?

The ISRO Aditya-L1 mission is a planned Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) satellite to be launched in 2021. It is designed for solar studies and will be placed in an orbit around the Lagrangian point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system, about 1.5 million km from Earth.

The satellite will carry a payload of six scientific instruments to study the Sun. These include a Corona Radiometer for measurements of the solar corona; a Visible Emission Line Coronagraph for imaging the solar corona; a Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope for studies of the Sun's UV emission; a Lyman Alpha Photometer for measuring the hydrogen alpha line emission from the Sun; a Solar X-ray Monitor for monitoring solar flares; and a Neutron Monitorufor detecting cosmic rays originating from the Sun.

The mission is named after Aditya, the Hindu god of the sun.

The Objectives of the Aditya L1 Mission

The Aditya-L1 mission is ISRO’s first dedicated mission to study the Sun. The main objectives of the mission are:

• To understand the Sun’s influence on the Earth and near-Earth space environment

• To study the solar corona and inner heliosphere

• To probe the causes of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and solar flares

• To develop improved models for predicting space weather events

The Timeline of the Mission

The Aditya-L1 mission is planned to be launched in March 2023 on board the PSLV-XL rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India. The spacecraft will be placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrangian point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system, approximately 1.5 million km from Earth.

The main objectives of the Aditya-L1 mission are to study the solar corona and to provide early warnings of solar flares. The spacecraft will carry a payload of six scientific instruments to study different aspects of the Sun.

The Aditya-L1 mission will be India's first mission to study the Sun up close. It is also the first space mission to be dedicated to studying the Sun's corona - the outermost layer of its atmosphere.

What are the benefits of the mission?

The Aditya-L1 mission is ISRO's first dedicated mission to study the Sun. The mission is named after Aditya, the Hindu god of the Sun. The main objectives of the mission are to study the Solar corona and investigate the causes of the Solar variability.

The Aditya-L1 mission will be launched aboard PSLV-XL rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The spacecraft will be placed in a polar orbit at an altitude of 1 lakh km from Earth. From this orbit, Aditya-L1 will have a continuous uninterrupted view of the Sun for nearly one year.

Some of the scientific instruments aboard Aditya-L1 include:

1) Visible Imaging Telescope (VIS): To study the solar corona in visible light

2) Near Infrared Imaging Spectroscopy (NIRIS): To study features in the solar photosphere and chromosphere

3) Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT): To map magnetic fields in solar active regions

4) Large Area Soft X-ray Telescope (LAXRT): To study flares and CMEs

5) Ultra Violet Imager (UVI): To monitor UV brightening due to CMEs

6) White Light Coronagraph (WLC): To measure properties of coronal plasma

7) Solar Wind Plasma Analyzer (SWPA):

Who is funding the mission?

The Aditya-L1 mission is being funded by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The total cost of the mission is estimated to be around Rs. 400 crore.

What are the risks associated with the mission?

The Aditya-L1 mission is India’s first mission to study the Sun. It is also the country’s first dedicated space science mission. The spacecraft will be placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrangian point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system, about 1.5 million km from Earth. Aditya-L1 will study the Sun’s corona - its outer atmosphere - in detail and also look for any changes in the solar wind that could impact the Earth.

There are several risks associated with the mission. First, since the spacecraft will be in a halo orbit around L1, it will be constantly exposed to the Sun’s radiation. This could potentially damage the spacecraft’s components and systems. Second, due to its proximity to the Sun, Aditya-L1 will experience extreme temperatures ranging from -170°C to +150°C. This could also lead to damage of some of the spacecraft’s components.

Third, there is always a risk associated with launching and operating a spacecraft in Earth’s orbit. There is a chance that something could go wrong during launch or operation which could result in loss of the spacecraft. Finally, since this is India’s first dedicated space science mission, there is a certain amount of risk associated with undertaking such a complex and ambitious mission.

Conclusion

The ISRO Aditya – L1 mission is a very ambitious project that will help us better understand the Sun. It is an important step in our quest to unravel the mysteries of our nearest star, and we are very excited to see what data the mission will bring back. We would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this project, and we cannot wait to see the results.