Aditya-L1 Launch highlights: India's sunshine moment as mission now in space

As ISRO counts down to the launch of Aditya L1, a 'havan' was performed in Varanasi, wishing success to the country's maiden solar mission.

Home minister Amit Shah said that we have reached the Moon and soon will reach near the Sun. 

"We have achieved many things in 75 years. We have reached the Moon and soon will reach near the Sun. But this is not enough," Amit Shah said during the 'Meri Maati Mera Desh' event.

From the Earth it is tough to study the Sun because of photons. These are particles of light from the Sun's surface which dominate those from the outer atmosphere making it tough to conduct studies from Earth. 

Aditya L1 is expected to be put into orbit in the middle of January. By the end of February, India VELC's shutter will start doing its job and we may be able to the see the first images from the Sun. 

Can't wait, right?

European Space Agency (ESA) is backing India's mission to the Sun by providing deep space communication services. It has also helped with the new flight dynamics software for the mission today. 

Happy Saturday! Here's what is happening today:

1. Aditya L1- India's first solar mission- will be launched today. 
2. It is aimed at studying solar activity and its effect on Earth, other planets and space weather.
3. The mission will carry seven payloads to orbit to observe the photosphere, chromosphere and outermost layers of the Sun.
4. Aditya mission plans to go to the L1 point which offers an unobstructed view of the Sun. 
5. Aditya L1 will NOT land on the Sun or go any closer to the body. 

PSLV is one of the most reliable rockets of ISRO. Chandrayaan-1 in 2008 and Mangalyaan in 2013 were also launched using PSLV. So will be Aditya mission… 

According to Padma Shri awardee and former ISRO scientist Mylswamy Annadurai, it will be technically very challenging for Aditya mission to acquire the L1 point and have an orbit around that.

Where can you watch the event live? ISRO has given streaming links. The live feed will start at 11:20 am at ISRO website: https://isro.gov.in or search for ISRO's official YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@isroofficial5866. 

Or just keep reading this space. We got you covered! 

Hard work is the key to success, right? Aditya L1 has been in the works for more than 15 years now as ISRO started preparing for it during the Chandrayaan-1 mission in 2008. 

Just imagine the work that goes into a mission!

Aditya L1 will be placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrange point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system. A satellite placed in this halo orbit around the L1 point can continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation/eclipses. This will provide a greater advantage of observing the solar activities as well as its impact on space weather in real time.

Ex-commander of International Space Station Chris Hadfield said that India has great technology skills, adding that technology is very important for everyone on Earth.

India’s Sun mission’s primary payload VELC will transmit 1,440 images per day. The VELC- Visible Emission Line Coronagraph- is the primary payload of Aditya-L1 which will send 1,440 images per day to the ground station for analysis after reaching its intended orbit. It is the largest and technically most challenging payload on Aditya-L1 and was integrated, tested, and calibrated at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics’s (IIA) CREST campus in Hoskote. 

The major objectives of the solar mission are:

1. Study of Solar upper atmospheric (chromosphere and corona) dynamics
2. Study of coronal heating, physics of the partially ionized plasma, initiation of the coronal mass ejections and flares
3. Observe the in-situ particle and plasma environment
4. Diagnostics of the coronal and coronal loops plasma
5. Development, dynamics and origin of CMEs
6. Understanding the drivers for space weather

Ahead of the launch of Aditya L1, a team of scientists from ISRO visited the Tirumala Tirupati Sri Venkateswara Temple along with a miniature model of the spacecraft on September 1 to offer prayers. 

1. Will Aditya L1 land on the Sun? Aditya L1 will stay approximately 1.5 million km away from Earth- about a percent of the Earth-Sun distance. Aditya L1 will neither land on the Sun nor approach the Sun from close. 
2. What is the aim of the mission? Aditya L1 will study the outer atmosphere of the Sun

Aditya-L1 is the first space-based observatory class to study the Sun. It will be launched using ISRO's reliable Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) at 11.50am today.

A top scientist said that monitoring of the Sun on a 24-hour basis is a must to study solar quakes. These quakes can alter the geomagnetic fields of earth, Professor and In-Charge Scientist at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Dr R Ramesh told PTI, adding that just as there are earthquakes on Earth, there are something called solar quakes which called as Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs).

Fascinating, right?

Lagrangian Point 1 or L1 is 1.5 million km away from the Earth in the direction of the Sun. Aditya mission is expected to cover the distance in four months' time. 

Yes, four months! 

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief S Somanath said that it is an important launch and the satellite will take 125 days to reach the L1 point.

Aditya-L1 will enter into a halo orbit around one of five Lagrange points- like a parking spot in space because probes can orbit them in a constant pattern while conserving fuel. From there, Aditya-L1 will have an uninterrupted view of the Sun and study in real time its effect on environmental conditions for other planets. 

With Aditya-L1, India will be among few nations studying Sun as if all goes well with India's Aditya-L1 mission, it will bring India among few countries with probes studying the Sun.

“It is technically very challenging to acquire the L1 point and have an orbit around that and to survive for the five years with very accurate finding requirements... This is scientifically going to be rewarding because seven instruments will try to understand the dynamics and phenomena of what's happening there,” Padma Shri awardee and former ISRO scientist Mylswamy Annadurai told ANI.

Indian poet-diplomat Abhay K has composed a Sun Anthem in honor of ISRO's historic launch of the Aditya-L1 spacecraft, India's first dedicated solar study mission. The anthem celebrates the Sun as a home star, illuminating lives on Earth, the Moon, and Mars, bringing unity in the vast cosmos. 

The anthem goes: "Home star, you’re never too far. Lighting up our lives wherever we are. On Moon or Mars, near or far, home star, you’re never too far. Keeping us all from drifting apart in the deep dark galactic bar. Igniting the skies each day in the Orion spur of the Milky Way."

"Streaming light across the dark space. Primeval god, Universe’s glowing face. Home star, you’re never too far. Lighting up our lives wherever we are"

Abhay K, hailing from Bihar, said he draws inspiration from Chhath puja, a festival that worships the Sun. The diplomat renowned for his planetary anthems aims to immortalize these moments through poetry, emphasizing the importance of space exploration in understanding celestial bodies' behaviour and interactions.

• India's ISRO will launch its maiden solar expedition, the Aditya L1 mission, after its successful moon mission, at 11.50am today.
• The 23.10-hour countdown for the launch of Aditya L1 commenced on Friday.
• The Aditya L1 mission aims to study the Sun and will take 125 days to reach its destination.
• It will conduct remote observations of the solar corona and in-situ observations of the solar wind at the Sun-Earth Lagrangian point (L1), 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.
• The L1 point offers continuous viewing of the Sun without eclipses.
• The mission aims to learn more about the Sun's eruptive phenomena and energy releases.
• Early warning of solar disturbances is crucial for spacecraft and communication systems.
• The PSLV-XL variant, used previously in Chandrayaan-1 and MOM, will launch Aditya L1 with seven payloads.
• The spacecraft will travel from low Earth orbit to the L1 point, taking four months.
• The Aditya-L1 payloads will provide critical information about the Sun's activities and space weather.