After his lunar success, Isro turns his attention to the sun. India’s first solar mission, Aditya LI, will launch later this week. Mint looks at the need to study the sun, the objectives of Aditya L1 and what others have done to study our nearest star.
So Isro is now looking at the sun?
Yes. After becoming the first country in the world to land an object on the south pole of the moon, the Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) is all set to investigate the sun – the largest object in our solar system. Aditya L1, India’s first space-based solar mission, will depart from Sriharikota on September 2 at 11:50 am. The spacecraft, which will carry as many as seven payloads, will be launched using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. It will take the spacecraft 120 days to reach its intended destination: a halo orbit around the Lagrange point L1, about 1.5 million km from Earth.
Why is it important to study the sun?
The Sun is the closest star to Earth at 150 million km away. This hot glowing mass of hydrogen and helium gases is the source of energy for the Earth. The sun also regularly records various eruptive phenomena, such as coronal mass ejections. These, along with solar winds, can cause disturbances in the Earth’s magnetic field. Changes in space weather can affect our space assets, such as satellites. Early warning of such disturbances helps to take preventive measures. The sun is also a natural laboratory for studying extreme thermal and magnetic phenomena that cannot be replicated on Earth.
View full image
What is the purpose of the Aditya L1 mission?
Lagrange-1 is a point between the Earth and the Sun where the gravitational pull of the two bodies is such that the spacecraft will remain in the same position without using too much fuel. Once Aditya L1 has reached its final orbit, it will be able to face the sun continuously. It has payloads to study coronal warming, coronal mass ejection, space weather, particles and fields.
What are the seven charges?
All seven cargoes were built domestically. The visible emission line coronagraph will study the sun’s corona and the dynamics of coronal mass ejections. An ultraviolet imaging telescope will study the sun’s photosphere and chromosphere. A solar wind particle analyzer and plasma analyzer will study X-ray flares. High and low energy X-ray spectrometers will observe the sun. The spacecraft also carries a high-resolution digital magnetometer to study the interplanetary magnetic field at Lagrange point L1.
What are the other probes to the sun?
Space forces have been exploring the sun since the 1960s. The Pioneer (NASA), Helios (NASA and German Aerospace Center), Ulysses (NASA and European Space Agency), Stereo (NASA) and Solar orbiters (ESA) have studied space weather, coronal mass ejection, solar winds and magnetic fields. and cosmic rays. In 2018, NASA launched Parker, a solar probe. In December 2021, it flew through the sun’s corona and became the first spacecraft to hit the sun. It will study corona activity closely.
