India’s Aditya-L1 space observatory has successfully carried out the Trans-Lagrangian 1 (TL1I) insertion maneuver, marking the beginning of its 110-day journey towards the Lagrangian 1 (L1) point. The L1 point is located approximately 1.5 million kilometers from Earth and represents about 1% of the distance between Earth and the Sun. This is the fifth consecutive time that the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has successfully transferred an object to another celestial body or location in space.

Aditya-L1, launched on September 2nd, is dedicated to the comprehensive study of the Sun and has a lifespan of five years. It carries seven payloads, five of which were developed by ISRO and two by Indian academic institutes in collaboration with the space agency. The spacecraft will be injected into an orbit around the L1 point in January 2024, after which it will spend its lifespan in orbit around L1 in a plane perpendicular to the Sun-Earth line.

ISRO announced that the Supra Thermal and Energetic Particle Spectrometer (STEPS) instrument, part of the Aditya Solar Wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX) payload, has started collecting scientific data. STEPS consists of six sensors that measure supra-thermal and energetic ions and electrons in different directions. This data will help scientists analyze the behavior of particles surrounding Earth and provide information on the origin, acceleration, and anisotropy of the solar wind and space weather phenomena.

Aditya-L1 is a significant step for India’s space exploration efforts and will provide crucial information for understanding phenomena related to the Sun, such as coronal heating, coronal mass ejections, flare activities, space weather dynamics, and particle and field propagation.

Sources:
– ISRO (Twitter): @isro
– ISRO (Website): Aditya-L1 mission pursues the enigma of space weather