Aditya-L1 Mission: India's amazing spacecraft flies towards a date with the Sun

India’s maiden solar mission, Aditya- L1 mission is racing towards the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 1 (L1). The Aditya-L1 spacecraft will take more time to reach its destination. 

As informed by ISRO, the Aditya-L1 mission spacecraft is healthy and is traveling on its path smoothly.

A Trajectory Correction Maneuver (TCM) was conducted by the Aditya-L1 mission on October 6, 2023, after the Trans-Lagrangian Point 1 Insertion (TL1I) maneuver on September 19, 2023.

The magnetometer on Aditya-L1 will soon be reactivated as it continues its journey.

As of September 30, 2023, the spacecraft had traveled over 9.2 lakh km from Earth, marking the second time ISRO has sent a spacecraft beyond Earth's sphere of influence after the Mars Orbiter Mission.

Aditya-L1 mission aim is also to collect data to study particles around Earth, especially at the L1 point.

Data collected at L1 will provide insights into solar wind, space weather, and their origins and behavior.

The Aditya-L1 launch date was September 2, 2023, using the PSLV-C57 rocket.

Aditya-L1 carries seven payloads, four for observing sunlight and three for measuring plasma and magnetic field parameters in situ.

The Aditya-L1 mission will contribute to advancing our understanding of solar phenomena and space weather.

Aditya-L1 is expected to reach L1 around second week of January 2024 and then it will be placed in a halo orbit around Lagrangian Point 1 (L1), 1.5 million km from Earth, allowing continuous observation of the Sun.