The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to manoeuvre its Aditya-L1 solar mission into a stable halo orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 1 (L1) on Saturday, January 6. The pioneering spacecraft is nearing the final phase of a months-long journey to begin its close-up study of the Sun.Halo orbit to enable uninterrupted solar observationsThe insertion at L1, located some 1.5 million km from Earth, will position Aditya-L1 to leverage a halo orbit that avoids eclipses and planet magnetic fields. This will allow the satellite to conduct consistent long-term observations without interruption, a crucial capability to meet the missions science goals.Multi-year mission to investigate solar atmosphereAditya-L1 first launched aboard the PSLV-C57 rocket last year on September 2 and carries a suite of seven highly specialised instruments. These instruments include the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC), Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS), Plasma Analyser Package for Aditya (PAPA), High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer (HEL1OS), Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT), Aditya Solar Wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX), and onboard Magnetometers (MAG).These will enable ISRO to investigate high-priority questions about the solar corona, flares, coronal mass ejections and other activity that can adversely impact satellite operations, communications infrastructure, and power grids on Earth.Spacecraft equipped with cutting-edge detectorsThe payloads on Aditya-L1 include advanced electromagnetic and particle detectors designed specifically to observe the Suns challenging environment across multiple wavelengths. The mission has a planned lifetime through 2028, with ISRO expecting to gather unprecedented data on the Sun.Findings to benefit Indian and global scienceISRO Chairman S. Somanath has highlighted that Aditya-L1s solar findings will not only prove valuable for Indias space program but also significantly benefit the worldwide scientific communitys understanding of the Sun and efforts to understand the hazardous space dynamics.
