‘Aditya-L1 on its way to Sun-Earth L1’, ISRO shares latest update on India’s solar mission

The Indian Space Research Organisation on Sunday informed that the Aditya-L1 spacecraft performed the Trajectory Correction Maneuver (TCM) on October 6 for about 16 seconds and now it is on its way to Sun-Earth L1.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), ISRO said, “The Spacecraft is healthy and on its way to Sun-Earth L1. A Trajectory Correction Maneuver (TCM), originally provisioned, was performed on October 6 for about 16 seconds.”

“It was needed to correct the trajectory evaluated after tracking the Trans-Lagrangean Point 1 Insertion (TL1I) maneuver performed on September 19. TCM ensures that the spacecraft is on its intended path towards the Halo orbit insertion around L1,” the Indian space agency said.

According to ISRO, the magnetometer will be turned on again within a few days as Aditya-L1 continues to move ahead. 

On September 30, the Aditya-L1 spacecraft successfully departed Earth's sphere of influence and started navigating its path toward the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 1 (L1).

The launch of the PSLV-C57.1 rocket carrying the Aditya-L1 orbiter took place on September 2 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. This launch of the maiden solar mission came weeks after ISRO's historic lunar landing mission, Chandrayaan-3.

Aditya-L1 mission will reach its observation point in four months according to ISRO. According to the agency, it will be positioned in a halo orbit around Lagrangian Point 1 (or L1) which is located 1.5 million kilometers from Earth in the direction of the Sun.

The spacecraft is equipped with seven different payloads designed to carry out a study of the Sun. Four of these payloads will observe the light from the sun, while the remaining three will measure in-situ parameters of the plasma and magnetic fields.

The primary objectives of India's solar mission encompass the study of the physics of solar corona and its heating mechanisms, solar wind acceleration, coupling and dynamics of the solar atmosphere, solar wind distribution and temperature anisotropy and origin of Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) and solar flares along with their impact on near-Earth space weather.