The Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman, S Somnath, announced that the L1 point insertion for India’s inaugural solar mission, Aditya L1, is scheduled for January 6, 2024. While the date is confirmed, the specific time for the spacecraft’s insertion remains pending, as emphasized by Chief Somnath on Saturday.
The journey of Aditya L1 commenced on September 2, with its launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, following the successful soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 near the South Pole of the Moon.
In a significant update shared by ISRO in December, it was revealed that the Solar Wind Ion Spectrometer (SWIS), the second instrument within the Aditya Solar Wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX), is operational. SWIS, capturing energy variations in proton and alpha particle counts, exhibited optimal performance over a two-day period.
ASPEX, a crucial payload on India’s Aditya-L1 satellite, consists of two advanced instruments – the Solar Wind Ion Spectrometer (SWIS) and STEPS (SupraThermal and Energetic Particle Spectrometer). The latter became operational on September 10, 2023, while SWIS was activated on November 2, 2023, and has been delivering optimal performance.
ISRO confirmed that ASPEX has initiated its measurements of solar wind ions, marking a significant milestone in the mission.
In a noteworthy update on November 7, ISRO reported that the spectrometer aboard Aditya-L1 recorded the impulsive phase of solar flares during its initial observation period starting from around October 29, 2023. The X-ray spectrometer, HEL1OS, attached to the Aditya-L1 spacecraft, captured the first high-energy X-ray glimpses of solar flares.
It is essential to note that Aditya-L1 has no plans to land on the sun or approach it any closer, as clarified by ISRO.
As the mission progresses toward the L1 point insertion, the scientific community and space enthusiasts eagerly anticipate the valuable data and insights that Aditya L1 is poised to provide in advancing our understanding of the sun and solar phenomena.
