On Wednesday, August 23, 2023, at 18:04, India etched its name in history with the success of the Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission. When the Vikram lander made its soft landing on the moon's south pole, the country erupted in celebration. While the nation is still buzzing about this grand moment, ISRO has revealed that it is turning its attention to the hot, big cosmic star at the center of our galaxy – the Sun. ISRO has shared updates on India's first solar mission, and here's everything you need to know about Aditya L1.
After the success of Chandrayaan-3, Aditya L1, ISRO sets eyes on other planets | Details | In focus
ISRO Chairman S Somanath revealed to media house ANI that the agency is preparing its first solar mission called Aditya L1, which will be ready for launch in September 2023. This is a huge revelation as the official announcement came just a day after the historic success of Chandrayaan -3 Lunar Missions.
First announced in late 2017, ISRO has been working on this mission alongside Chandrayaan-3. Aditya L1, for the uninitiated, will study the Sun from an orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrangian point 1 (L1), about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.
The Aditya L1 mission will carry seven payloads, four of which will directly view the Sun and study the outermost layers of the Sun (the corona). The remaining three payloads will "conduct in situ studies of particles and fields", according to ISRO. Here are the main objectives of India's Aditya-L1 mission, as described on ISRO's website:
