New Delhi: After the astounding success of Chandrayaan-3, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is gearing up for its first solar mission. ISRO has a date and time for its next cosmic quest—the Sun.
The Indian space agency announced the big news through a tweet, on August 28. ISRO informed in a message, “Aditya L1 shall be the first space-based Indian mission to study the Sun.”
When will India launch its first solar mission?
The country's first solar mission, Aditya-L1 will be launched on September 2, at 11:50 A.M. from Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota.
The tweet read, “PSLV-C57/Aditya-L1 Mission: The launch of Aditya-L1, the first space-based Indian observatory to study the Sun, is scheduled for September 2, 2023, at 11:50 Hrs. IST from Sriharikota. Citizens are invited to witness the launch from the Launch View Gallery at Sriharikota.”
As per the ISRO, this solar mission aims at studying the “Solar upper atmospheric dynamics” including “chromosphere and corona.” Aditya-L1 will observe the solar corona from a remote location at the Sun-Earth Lagrange point L1. In case you are wondering, this is about 1.5 million kilometres from Earth.
India's first solar mission Aditya-L1 will be launched using the PSLV-C57 rocket. Aditya-L1 will also study the physics of the partially ionized plasma in the solar atmosphere.
It will be equipped with seven payloads and its objective will also include the study of the solar wind. The evaluation of the main drivers of space weather will also be part of Aditya-L1's objective.
ISRO said, “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.”