NEW DELHI, India — On Saturday, India launched its first space mission to study the sun, less than two weeks after a successful uncrewed landing in the moon’s south pole zone.
The Aditya-L1 spacecraft launched from the Sriharikota space center in southern India aboard a satellite launch vehicle on a mission to study the sun from a distance of 1.5 million kilometers (930,000 miles). The L1 point provides an unbroken view of the sun.
According to the Indian Space Research Organisation, the spacecraft is outfitted with seven payloads to examine the sun’s corona, chromosphere, photosphere, and solar wind.
After over an hour, the ISRO said the launch had been “successfully completed.”
“The vehicle precisely placed the satellite into its intended orbit.” “the countries first solar observatory has started its journey to the Sun-Earth L1 point,” ISRO said on the X platform, formerly Twitter.
The satellite is expected to arrive at the L1 point in 125 days.
On August 23, India became the first country to land a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole, a historic mission to uncharted terrain that experts believe may contain important frozen water supplies. Following a failed moon landing attempt in 2019, the country became the fourth country to reach the milestone, joining the United States, Russia, and China.
On Saturday, India launched its first space mission to study the sun, less than two weeks after a successful uncrewed landing in the moon’s south pole zone.
Jitendra Singh, India’s junior minister for science and technology, congratulated ISRO employees for their efforts on the most recent launch.
“India, congratulations. “Congratulations, ISRO,” he exclaimed while in the ISRO control room. “It’s a bright spot for India.”
According to Manish Purohit, a former scientist at the ISRO, the sun study, paired with India’s successful moon trip, will fundamentally transform the ISRO’s image in the international community.
Hundreds of people came to witness the launch celebrated as the solar mission lifted off.
Prakash, a spectator who only revealed his first name, said the launch was “yet another milestone” like the country’s recent moon mission. “This is going to set the bar extremely high for ISRO,” he added.
“We are privileged to be Indian and witness this kind of developmental activities at the space centre for India,” said Sridevi, who revealed just one name.
Once in place, the satellite would provide credible warning of an onslaught of particles and radiation from increased solar activity, which can knock down electrical grids on Earth, according to B.R. Guruprasad, a space scientist, in an article published, The sophisticated warning system can protect both the satellites that serve as the backbone of the global economic structure and the people who live on space stations.
“Those seven payloads will study the sun as a star in all possible spectrum positions, including visible, ultraviolet, and X-ray.” “It’s as if we’ll get a black and white image, a colour image, and a high-definition, 4K image of the sun, so we don’t miss anything that’s happening on the sun,” Purohit explained.
SOURCE – (AP)
