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Aditya-L1
Aditya-L1 in deployed configuration
Mission typeSolar observation
OperatorISRO
COSPAR ID2023-132A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.57754Edit this on Wikidata
Websitewww.isro.gov.in/Aditya_L1.html
Mission duration5.2 years (planned)[1]
3 days (elapsed)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftPSLV-XL/C-57
Spacecraft typePSLV
BusI-1K[2]
ManufacturerISRO / IUCAA / IIA
Launch mass1,475 kg (3,252 lb)[3]
Payload mass244 kg (538 lb)[1]
Start of mission
Launch date2 September 2023 (2023-09-02), 11:50 IST (06:20 UTC)[4][5]
RocketPSLV-XL
Launch siteSatish Dhawan Space Centre
ContractorISRO
Orbital parameters
Reference systemSun–Earth L1
RegimeHalo orbit
Period177.86 days[6]
EpochJanuary 2024 (planned)
 

Aditya-L1 (from Sanskrit: Aditya, "Sun") is a coronagraphy spacecraft to study the solar atmosphere, designed and developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and various other Indian research institutes.[1] It will be inserted at about 1.5 million km from Earth in a halo orbit around the L1 Lagrange point between the Earth and the Sun where it will study the solar atmosphere, solar magnetic storms, and their impact on the environment around the Earth.[7]

It is the first Indian mission dedicated to observing the Sun. Nigar Shaji is the project's director.[8][9][10][11] It was launched aboard a PSLV-XL launch vehicle[1] at 11:50 IST on 2nd September 2023,[12][4][5] ten days after the successful landing of ISRO's moon mission, Chandrayaan 3. It successfully achieved its intended orbit nearly an hour later, and separated from the fourth stage at 12:57 IST.[13]

Mission objectives

Aditya-L1's main science objectives are:

History

Aditya-L1 in stowed configuration

Aditya was conceptualised in January 2008 by the Advisory Committee for Space Sciences (ADCOS).[15][16] It was initially envisaged as a small 400 kg (880 lb), LEO (800 km) satellite with a coronagraph to study the solar corona. An experimental budget of ₹3 crore was allocated for the financial year 2016–2017.[17][18][19] The scope of the mission has since been expanded and it is now planned to be a comprehensive solar and space environment observatory to be placed at Lagrange point L1,[20] so the mission was renamed "Aditya-L1". As of July 2019, the mission has an allocated cost of ₹378 crores excluding launch costs.[5]

Aditya L1 in deployed configuration

Name

"Aditya" is named after Surya and the Adityas, the revered Hindu deities representing the Sun. The "L1" designation denotes Lagrange point 1, signifying the precise location situated between the Sun and Earth where the Indian spacecraft is set to embark.[5]

Overview

Lagrange points in the Sun–Earth system (not to scale) – a small object at any one of the five points will hold its relative position.

The Aditya-L1 mission will take around 109 Earth days after launch[21] to reach the halo orbit around the L1 point, which is about 1,500,000 km (930,000 mi) from Earth. The spacecraft will remain in the halo orbit for its planned mission duration while being maintained at a stationkeeping cost of 0.2–4 m/s per year.[22] The 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) satellite carries seven science payloads with diverse objectives, including but not limited to, coronal heating, solar wind acceleration, coronal magnetometry, origin and monitoring of near-UV solar radiation (which drives Earth's upper atmospheric dynamics and global climate), coupling of the solar photosphere to the chromosphere and corona, in-situ characterisations of the space environment around Earth by measuring energetic particle fluxes and magnetic fields of the solar wind, and solar magnetic storms that have adverse effects on space and ground-based technologies.[1]

Aditya-L1 will be able to provide observations of the sun's photosphere, chromosphere and corona. In addition, an instrument will study the solar energetic particles' flux reaching the L1 orbit, while a magnetometer payload will measure the variation in magnetic field strength at the halo orbit around L1. These payloads have to be placed outside the interference from the Earth's magnetic field and hence could not have been useful in the low Earth orbit as proposed in the original Aditya mission concept.[23]

One of the major unsolved issues in the field of solar physics is that the upper atmosphere of the Sun is 1,000,000 K (1,000,000 °C; 1,800,000 °F) whereas the lower atmosphere is just 6,000 K (5,730 °C; 10,340 °F). In addition, it is not understood how exactly the Sun's radiation affects the dynamics of the Earth's atmosphere on a shorter as well as a longer time scale. The mission will obtain near-simultaneous images of the different layers of the Sun's atmosphere, which will reveal the ways in which energy may be channeled and transferred from one layer to another. Thus, the Aditya-L1 mission will enable a comprehensive understanding of the dynamical processes of the Sun and address some of the outstanding problems in solar physics and heliophysics.

Payloads

The instruments of Aditya-L1 are tuned to observe the solar atmosphere, mainly the chromosphere and corona. In-situ instruments will observe the local environment at L1. There are seven payloads on-board, with four for remote sensing of the Sun and three for in-situ observation. The payloads have been developed by different laboratories in the country with the close collaboration of various centres of ISRO.[24]

Type Sl.No Payload Capability Laboratories
Remote Sensing Payloads 1 Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) Corona/Imaging and spectroscopy Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore
2 Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) Photosphere and chromosphere imaging- narrow and broadband Inter University Centre for Astronomy & Astrophysics, Pune
3 Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS) Soft X-ray spectrometer: Sun-as-a-star observation U R Rao Satellite Centre, Bangalore
4 High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer(HEL1OS) Hard X-ray spectrometer: Sun-as-a-star observation
In-situ Payloads 5 Aditya Solar wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX) Solar wind/Particle analyzer protons and heavier ions with directions Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad
6 Plasma Analyser Package For Aditya (PAPA) Solar wind/Particle Analyzer Electrons and Heavier Ions with directions Space Physics Laboratory, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram
7 Advanced Tri-axial High Resolution Digital Magnetometers In-situ magnetic field (Bx, By and Bz). Laboratory for Electro Optics Systems, Bangalore

Launch

Flight Sequence of PSLV-C57

On September 2, 2023, at 11:50 IST, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C57) accomplished the successful launch of the Aditya-L1 from the Second Launch Pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) located in Sriharikota.

The Aditya-L1, following a flight duration of 63 minutes and 20 seconds, achieved a successful injection into an elliptical orbit around the Earth at 12:54 IST.[25]

The Aditya-L1 is scheduled to undergo a series of four Earth-bound orbital manoeuvres prior to its placement in the transfer orbit towards the Lagrange point L1. Aditya-L1 is projected to reach its designated orbit at the L1 point approximately 127 days following its launch.[26]

Orbit raising burns

First orbit raising burn

On 3 September 2023 the Aditya-L1 performed its first Earth-bound maneuver, raising its orbit to a 245 km (152 mi) into 22,459 km (13,955 mi) orbit.[27]

Mission stages and maneuvers
Stage and Sequence Date/Time Time (IST) Periapsis Apoapsis Orbital Period References
Earth Orbit Insertion 2 September 2023 12:54 p.m 235 km (146 mi) 19,500 km (12,100 mi) [28]
Earth Bound Maneuver 1 3 September 2023 11:40 a.m. 245 km (152 mi) 22,459 km (13,955 mi) [29]
Earth Bound Maneuver 2

(expected)

5 September 2023 3:00 a.m [29]
Earth Bound Maneuver 3
Earth Bound Maneuver 4
Earth Bound Maneuver 5
Trans-Lagrangian 1 Injection

Team

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Somasundaram, Seetha; Megala, S. (25 August 2017). "Aditya-L1 mission" (PDF). Current Science. 113 (4): 610. Bibcode:2017CSci..113..610S. doi:10.18520/cs/v113/i04/610-612. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  2. ^ Nowakowski, Tomas (4 February 2016). "India's first solar mission to be launched in 2019–20". Space Flight Insider. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  3. ^ International Space Conference and Exhibition – DAY 3 (video). Confederation of Indian Industry. 15 September 2021. Event occurs at 2:07:36–2:08:38. Retrieved 18 September 2021 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ a b "Moon mission done, ISRO aims for the Sun with Aditya-L1 launch on September 2". The Indian Express. 28 August 2023. Archived from the original on 28 August 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d Pandey, Geeta (2 September 2023). "Aditya-L1: India launches its first mission to Sun". BBC News. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  6. ^ Sreekumar, P. (19 June 2019). "Indian Space Science & Exploration : Global Perspective" (PDF). UNOOSA. p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 June 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  7. ^ "Aditya – L1 First Indian mission to study the Sun". ISRO. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  8. ^ "Meet The Project Director Of Ambitious Mission Aditya-L1 | Nigar Shaji from Tamil Nadu". TimesNow. 2 September 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  9. ^ "ISROs Aditya-L1 Solar Mission: Nigar Shaji Addresses After Successful Launch Of First Sun Mission". Zee News. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  10. ^ "Meet Nigar Shaji from TN's Tenkasi, Aditya-L1 mission project director". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 2 September 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  11. ^ "Meet Nigar Shaji, The Project Director Of India's First Sun Mission: 5 Points". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 2 September 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  12. ^ ISRO [@isro] (1 September 2023). "PSLV-C57/Aditya-L1 Mission: The 23-hour 40-minute countdown leading to the launch at 11:50 Hrs. IST on September 2, 2023, has commended today at 12:10 Hrs. The launch can be watched LIVE on ISRO Website isro.gov.in Facebook facebook.com/ISRO YouTube youtube.com/watch?v=_IcgGYZTXQw… DD National TV channel from 11:20 Hrs. IST" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ "Aditya L1 Mission: Aditya L1 Launch LIVE Updates: Aditya L1 spacecraft successfully separated from PSLV rocket, now en route to Sun-Earth L1 point. ISRO says mission accomplished". The Economic Times. 2 September 2023. Archived from the original on 3 September 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  14. ^ "ADITYA-L1". www.isro.gov.in. Archived from the original on 3 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  15. ^ "SAC Industry Portal". www.sac.gov.in. Space Applications Center, Government of India. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  16. ^ Teotia, Riya, ed. (14 August 2023). "ISRO shares first images of Aditya-L1 satellite ahead of India's first-ever mission to study the Sun". WION. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  17. ^ "Notes on Demands for Grants, 2016–2017" (PDF) (Press release). Department of Space. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  18. ^ "Aditya gets ready to gaze at the sun". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  19. ^ Gandhi, Divya (13 January 2008). "ISRO planning to launch satellite to study the sun". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 15 September 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  20. ^ Desikan, Shubashree (15 November 2015). "The sun shines on India's Aditya". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  21. ^ "Department Of Space, Annual Report 2019–2020" (PDF). 14 February 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  22. ^ Muralidharan, Vivek (2017). "Orbit Maintenance Strategies for Sun-Earth/Moon Libration Point Missions: Parameter Selection for Target Point and Cauchy-Green Tensor Approaches". Open Access Theses. West Lafayette, Indiana, United States: M.S. Thesis, Purdue University: 183–194.
  23. ^ "Aditya-L1 First Indian mission to study the Sun". isro.gov.in. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  24. ^ "ISRO ADITYA-L1".
  25. ^ "PSLV-C57 / ADITYA-L1 Mission - Press Release". www.isro.gov.in. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  26. ^ "PSLV-C57/ADITYA-L1 Mission". www.isro.gov.in. Archived from the original on 3 September 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  27. ^ @isro (3 September 2023). "Aditya L1" (Tweet). Retrieved 3 September 2023 – via Twitter.
  28. ^ ISRO [@isro] (2 September 2023). "The launch of Aditya-L1 by PSLV-C57 is accomplished successfully. The vehicle has placed the satellite precisely into its intended orbit. India's first solar observatory has begun its journey to the destination of Sun-Earth L1 point" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  29. ^ a b ISRO [@isro] (3 September 2023). "The satellite is healthy and operating nominally. The first Earth-bound maneuvre (EBN#1) is performed successfully from ISTRAC, Bengaluru. The new orbit attained is 245km x 22459 km. The next maneuvre (EBN#2) is scheduled for September 5, 2023, around 03:00 Hrs. IST" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  30. ^ "Educational qualification of scientists behind ISRO's solar mission, Aditya L-1". DNA India. Retrieved 4 September 2023.