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Aditya-L1, India’s first solar mission, will arrive at its objective, the Lagrangian point (L1) 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, on 6th January, according to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) head S Somanath.
The project, the first Indian space-based observatory to study the Sun from a halo orbit L1, was launched on September 2 from Sriharikota’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC).
“Aditya-L1 will enter the L1 point on January 6. That is what is expected. Exact time will be announced at appropriate time,” Somanath told mediapersons here on Friday on the sidelines of the Bharatiya Vigyan Sammelan organised by Vijnana Bharati, an NGO working to popularise science.
“When it reaches the L1 point, we have to fire the engine once again so that it does not go further. It will go to that point, and once it reaches that point, it will rotate around it and will be trapped at L1,” he said.
Once Aditya-L1 reaches its destination, it will help measure various events happening on the Sun for the next five years.
“Once it is successfully placed on L1 point, it will be there for the next five years, gathering all the data which are very important not for India alone but for the entire world. The data will be very useful to understand the dynamics of the Sun and how it affects our life,” the ISRO chief said.
It is critical to understand how India will become a technologically powerful country, he added while addressing the audience.
According to Somanath, ISRO developed a proposal to create an Indian space station known as the ‘Bharatiya space station’ during the ‘Amrit Kaal’ in response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s directions.
“In the space sector we are seeing an emergence of new actors…We are going to support, encourage and build the economy around the new generation,” he said, adding that India cannot become a leader in everything, but it should focus on the sectors where it can.
Source:IE
