Aditya L-1 Mission: What next after the successful launch?

Aditya-L1 Launch Today: The Indian Space Research Organisation has successfully launched the Solar mission from Satish Dhawan Space Centre today i.e. on 2 September 2023. Aditya-L1 is the first space-based observatory class to study the Sun and is fired using ISRO's reliable Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

Following the launch, the spacecraft will be placed in a Low Earth Orbit. Subsequently, the orbit will be made more elliptical, and later the spacecraft will be launched towards the Lagrange point (L1) by using onboard propulsion, ISRO said in an official statement. 

As the spacecraft travels towards L1, it will exit the Earth’s gravitational Sphere of Influence (SOI). After exit from SOI, the cruise phase will start and subsequently, the spacecraft will be injected into a large halo orbit around L1, it added. 

L1 is 1.5 million km away from the Earth in the direction of the sun. It is expected to cover the distance in four months' time.

Also Read: LIVE Updates on Aditya-L1 mission launch

Upon reaching L1, Aditya-L1 will be manoeuvred into an irregularly shaped orbit, roughly perpendicular to the line joining the Earth and the Sun, where it will spend its mission life.

The mission aims to better understand the solar atmosphere, solar wind distribution, temperature anisotropy, and more. The spacecraft will stay approximately 1.5 million kilometres from Earth, constantly facing the Sun, which is about 1% of the Earth-Sun distance.

Aditya-L1 is a fully indigenous effort with the involvement of national institutions, including the Indian Institute of Astrophysics and the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Pune.

The mission will utilise a PSLV-C57 rocket for its launch. Aditya-L1 carries seven specialised payloads designed to observe different aspects of the Sun, including the photosphere, chromosphere, and corona, across various wavelengths.

The mission's instruments are finely tuned to observe the Sun's atmosphere, while in-situ instruments will capture data from the local environment at L1 point.