Aditya-L1 Mission to Sun: ISRO’s reply to NASA’S Parker Solar Probe

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch Aditya-L1 mission. It will be the first satellite after NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, designed to study the solar corona (the outer layers of the Sun, extending to thousands of km above the photosphere.  It has a temperature of more than a million-degree Kelvin). India is now ready for their own moment in the Sun. Aditya (Sanskrit word for Sun) will be the Indian Space Agency’s second high-profile space mission since it launched its Mars orbiter in 2013.

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What is Aditya-L1

1. Aditya-1 mission is conceived as a 400kg class satellite carrying one payload, the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) and plans to launch in an 800 km low earth orbit.

2. Aditya-L1 is placed in the halo orbit around the Lagrangian point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system.

3. It views the Sun continuously without any occultation and eclipses. 

4. The satellite carries six payloads with enhanced science scope and objectives.

5. Aditya-L1 provides observations of Sun’s Photosphere, Chromosphere and corona. 

6. Aditya-L1 mission helps solar scientists from multiple organisations to participate in space-based observations. 

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Aditya-L1 launch:

The Aditya-L1 is set to launch by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh in 2019.

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