Aditya L1, India's first solar observatory, reaches destination Lagrange Point-1

The Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) maiden solar mission, Aditya L1, has performed its final manoeuvre to reach its destination and inject into its final orbit. Announcing the same, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India will "continue to pursue new frontiers of science for the benefit of humanity".

Hyderabad: History has been scripted yet another time in India's space realm. ISRO's first solar observatory mission, Aditya L1 Saturday reached its destination orbit Lagrange Point-1.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first one to announce the same. "India creates yet another landmark. India’s first solar observatory Aditya-L1 reaches it’s destination. It is a testament to the relentless dedication of our scientists in realising among the most complex and intricate space missions. I join the nation in applauding this extraordinary feat. We will continue to pursue new frontiers of science for the benefit of humanity," the Prime Minister tweeted.

The satellite, in its 126-day journey, has traversed about 3.7 million kilometers after launch from Sriharikota on September 2. It is expected to stay in the strategic location for the next five years. According to the ISRO, Aditya L1 is healthy and scientific results have already started flowing in as it has beamed back beautiful images of the full disc of the Sun.

The destination where Aditya-L1 managed to reached on Saturday is called Lagrange Point L1, which is 1.5 million km from earth. Lagrange points are specific locations in space where the gravitational forces of a two-body system, such as the Sun and Earth, create areas of heightened attraction and repulsion. These strategic points can be harnessed by spacecraft to minimise the amount of fuel required to maintain their positions.

The solar mission aims to study the- Sun's upper atmospheric layers, coronal mass ejections, corona's magnetic field, corona's high temperature, solar particle acceleration leading to the solar wind.

The spacecraft carries seven payloads to observe the photosphere, chromosphere and the outermost layers of the Sun (the corona) using electromagnetic and particle and magnetic field detectors. According to the space agency, Using the special vantage point L1, four payloads directly view the Sun and the remaining three payloads carry out in-situ studies of particles and fields at the Lagrange point L1, thus providing important scientific studies of the propagatory effect of solar dynamics in the interplanetary medium.

The suits of Aditya L1 payloads are expected to provide the "most crucial information" to understand the problem of coronal heating, coronal mass ejection, pre-flare and flare activities and their characteristics, dynamics of space weather, and propagation of particles and fields, officials said.

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