Aditya-L1 Mission: Solar observatory shooting toward the Sun to its parking spot
Photo Credit: ISRO
The first solar observatory that India will get is through the ISRO project called the Aditya-L1 mission. Aditya-L1 mission objectives include the full exploration of the Sun from a unique vantage point.
Photo Credit: ISRO
Launched on September 2, 2023, the Aditya-L1 mission spacecraft embarked on a 110-day voyage to an extraordinary location in space.
Photo Credit: ISRO
Aditya-L1 destination is approximately 1 million miles (1.5 million kilometres) from Earth, offering an uninterrupted view of the sun.
Photo Credit: ISRO/Twitter
To ensure Aditya-L1 mission spacecraft stays on its precise course, a Trajectory Correction Maneuver (TCM) was executed on October 6, 2023, lasting 16 seconds.
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This TCM is a standard procedure by ISRO for deep space missions to fine-tune the Aditya-L1 spacecraft's orbit.
Photo Credit: NASA
The correction was necessary after the Trans-Lagrangian Point 1 Insertion (TL1I) manoeuvre was performed on September 19, 2023.
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Aditya-L1 mission payloads are 7 in number to be carried out across the 5-year mission to study the sun, representing India's second deep space mission.
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The first was the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), which reached Mars in 2014. Aditya means "the sun" in Sanskrit.
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The "L1" in Aditya-L1 refers to its orbit location, Earth-sun Lagrange point 1, ensuring continuous solar observations. India's journey to unveil the secrets of our sun continues.
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ISRO has a number of projects ongoing apart from Aditya-L1 mission. It includes the Chandrayaan-4 mission, Mangalyaan-2 mission and Shukryaan mission.