- Written by Geeta Pandey
- BBC News, Delhi
India’s first solar observation mission is expected to reach its final destination within hours.
On Saturday, space agency Isro plans to install Aditya-L1 somewhere in space from which it will be able to continuously observe the sun.
The spacecraft has been sailing toward the sun for four months since its launch on September 2.
India’s first space mission to study the solar system’s largest body is named after the Hindu sun god Surya, also known as Aaditya. And L1 stands for Lagrange Point 1, which is the exact location where the spacecraft heads between the Sun and Earth.
According to the European Space Agency, a Lagrangian point is a place where the gravitational forces of two large bodies, such as the Sun and Earth, cancel each other out, allowing a spacecraft to “hover.”
L1 is 1.5 million km (932,000 miles) from Earth, which is 1% of the distance between Earth and the Sun. Isro said recently that the spacecraft has already traveled most of the distance to its destination.
Isro officials told the BBC that a “final operation” to bring Aditya into L1 orbit will take place around 16:00 Indian time (10:30 GMT) on Saturday.
Isro chief S. Somanath said the spacecraft will be confined to orbit and further maneuvers will be required from time to time to keep it in place.
Once Aditya-L1 reaches this ‘parking spot’, it will be able to orbit the sun at the same speed as Earth. This advantage will allow us to constantly observe the Sun and conduct scientific research, even during eclipses and occultations.
The orbiter carries seven scientific instruments to observe and study the solar corona (outermost layer). They are the photosphere (the surface of the sun, or the part visible from Earth) and the chromosphere (the thin layer of plasma between the photosphere and the corona).
After launching on September 2nd, the spacecraft circled the Earth four times and exited Earth’s sphere of influence on September 30th. In early October, Isro announced that it had made some changes to its orbit to ensure it continued on its intended path to its final destination.
Some of the equipment on board has already begun work, collecting data and taking images, the agency said.
Just days after launch, Isro shared the first images sent back from the mission. One photo showed the Earth and the moon in one frame, and the second was a “selfie” showing two scientific instruments.
And last month, the agency The first full-disk image of the sun It said the observations were made at wavelengths ranging from 200 to 400 nanometers, providing “insight into the intricate details of the sun’s photosphere and chromosphere.”
Scientists say the mission will help them understand solar activity, such as solar winds and solar flares, and how they affect weather on Earth and near space in real time.
The sun’s radiation, heat, particle flows, and magnetic fields constantly influence Earth’s weather. They also affect space weather, which has about 7,800 satellites, including: More than 50 people from Indiais stationed there.
Scientists say Aditya will help better understand and even issue warnings about solar winds and eruptions in the days ahead, helping India and other countries move satellites away from danger. .
Isro did not provide details of the mission’s cost, but Indian media reports put it at 3.78 billion rupees ($46 million, £36 million).
If Saturday’s operation is successful, India will join a select group of countries already conducting solar research.
The US space agency NASA has been observing the sun since the 1960s. Japan launched its first solar mission in 1981, and the European Space Agency (ESA) has been observing the Sun since the 1990s.
In February 2020, NASA and ESA will jointly launch a solar probe to study the Sun from close range and collect data that will help understand the drivers of its dynamic behavior, scientists say.
And in 2021, NASA’s newest spacecraft, the Parker Solar Probe, made history by becoming the first to fly through the sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona.
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