India has successfully launched its inaugural observation mission to the Sun, named Aditya-L1. The launch took place at Sriharikota at 11:50 AM Indian time (06:20 GMT). Aditya-L1 will travel a distance of 1.5 million km (932,000 miles) from Earth, equivalent to 1% of the Earth-Sun distance, and it will take approximately four months to reach its destination.
The mission is named after Surya, the Hindu god of the Sun, and “L1” refers to Lagrange point 1, the precise location between the Sun and Earth where the spacecraft is heading.
A Lagrange point is a position where the gravitational forces of two large objects, such as the Sun and Earth, balance each other, allowing a spacecraft to remain stationary. Once Aditya-L1 reaches this point, it will orbit the Sun at the same rate as Earth, requiring minimal fuel for operation.
The launch was witnessed by thousands of people at the viewing gallery set up by the Indian Space Research Agency (ISRO) near the launch site, and it was broadcast live on national TV. ISRO scientists declared the launch successful, and it will take Aditya-L1 135 days to complete its journey to Lagrange point 1.
The mission aims to benefit not only India but also the global scientific community by studying the Sun continuously, even during eclipses, and conducting scientific research.
It will observe and study various aspects of the Sun, such as the solar corona, photosphere, and chromosphere, helping scientists better understand solar activity and its impact on Earth and near-space weather.
While the exact cost of the mission has not been disclosed, reports in the Indian press estimate it at 3.78 billion rupees ($46 million). The mission is expected to enhance our scientific understanding of the Sun, improve space weather forecasting, and contribute to the longevity of satellites in space.
India’s solar mission comes shortly after the country achieved a historic milestone by successfully landing a probe near the lunar south pole, becoming the fourth nation in the world to achieve a soft landing on the Moon.
Other countries, such as Japan, the US (through NASA), and the European Space Agency (ESA), have conducted missions to study the Sun, with NASA’s Parker Solar Probe being a notable recent example. These missions aim to unlock the mysteries of our solar system’s star and its dynamic behavior.