India's First Solar Mission Launch: How Much Did Aditya-L1 Cost?

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched its solar mission, Aditya L1 today from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. Aditya L1 is the first space-based Indian observatory which aims to study the Sun. 

The launch of India's Sun mission, Aditya L1, has come on the heels of the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on the Moon. 

Aditya L1 mission Cost: 

The solar mission reportedly costs over Rs 300 crores. 

Objectives of Aditya L1:

Observe the dynamics of the Solar upper atmosphere, that is chromosphere and corona. Study the in-situ particle and plasma environment, and provide data for the study of particle dynamics from the Sun. In addition, study the Physics of solar corona and its heating mechanism. Among several other objectives, it will study the drivers for space weather, magnetic field topology and magnetic field measurements in the solar corona as well as a better understanding of the dynamics of solar wind.

There are a total of seven payloads on board. While four of them are carrying out remote sensing of the Sun, the other three are carrying in-situ observations. 

“The suits of Aditya L1 payloads are expected to provide the most crucial information to understand the problem of coronal heating, coronal mass ejection, pre-flare and flare activities and their characteristics, dynamics of space weather, propagation of particle and fields etc,” ISRO said in an official statement. 

Travel Time of Aditya L1:

The total travel time from launch to L-1 (Lagrange point) Aditya-L1 would take roughly four months, ISRO said.

Aditya L1, the first space-based Indian mission to study the Sun, shall be placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrange point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system. 

The Lagrange points are named after a French mathematician Joseph-Louis Lagrange, who first studied them back in the 18th century. At Lagrange Points, the gravitational forces of two large bodies, like the Sun and the Earth, balance out, creating a region of equilibrium. This can be used by a spacecraft to reduce its fuel consumption.