Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said on Wednesday that preparations are underway to launch the Aditya L1 mission. Vehicle internal checks have been completed. Aditya L1 will be launched via PSLV XL rocket on September 2 at 11:50 am from Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota.
It will reach the Lagrange Point-1 i.e. L1 point, 1.5 million kilometers away from the Earth, in about 4 months. The Aditya spacecraft will move around the L1 point to understand the storms on the Sun. Apart from this, it will study things like magnetic field and solar wind. Aditya has 7 payloads for use.
Why will Aditya spacecraft be sent to L1 point only?
Aditya will be placed in a halo orbit between the Sun and Earth. The orbit around the L1 point is called a halo orbit. ISRO says that the satellite placed in the halo orbit around the L1 point can see the Sun continuously without any eclipse.
With this, real-time solar activities and space weather can also be monitored. Aditya L1’s payload is expected to provide information to understand coronal heating, coronal mass ejections, characteristics of pre-flare and flare activities, movement of particles, and space weather.
What is L1?
Lagrange points are named after Italian-French mathematician Joseph-Louis Lagrange. It is commonly known as L-1. There are five such points between the Earth and the Sun, where the gravitational force of the Sun and the Earth is balanced and centrifugal force is created.
In such a situation, if any object is kept at this place then it easily remains stable between the two and less energy is also required. The first Lagrange point is at a distance of 1.5 million kilometers between the Earth and the Sun. In simple words, L-1 is such a point where any object can remain stable at an equal distance from the Sun and the Earth.
