The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is gearing up for the launch of the Aditya-L1 mission, set to take place between June and July of this year. This historic mission marks the first time India will be observing the Sun and the solar corona.
Speaking at the handover ceremony of the Visible Line Emission Coronagraph (VELC) payload on Thursday, ISRO Chairman S. Somanath stated that the launch window for the Aditya-L1 mission will close by August. The mission will be launched to the L1 orbit, which is the first Lagrangian point of the Sun-Earth system and allows for continuous observation of the Sun.
Aditya-L1 is equipped with a total of seven payloads, with the primary payload being the VELC, designed and fabricated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics in Bengaluru. The other six payloads are being developed by ISRO and other scientific institutions. “Understanding the effect of the Sun on the Earth and its surroundings has become very important now and Aditya-L1 aims to shed light on this topic,” said Somanath.
Following the handover of the VELC payload, ISRO will now conduct further testing and integrate it with the Aditya-L1 spacecraft. Raghavendra Prasad, the Principal Investigator for the VELC payload, stated that the payload will have the ability to observe the corona continuously and the data provided is expected to answer many outstanding questions in the field of solar astronomy.
ISRO’s Aditya-L1 mission is a groundbreaking endeavor that will provide valuable insights into the Sun and solar corona. With the launch set for June or July, the world watches in anticipation as India takes a step forward in the realm of space exploration.