ISRO's Solar Mission: Aditya L1 successfully performs 3rd earth-bound manoeuvre; 4th scheduled on this date
ISRO's Solar Mission: The third earth-bound manoeuvre of India's first solar mission, Aditya L1, was successfully completed on Sunday, according to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
“The third Earth-bound manoeuvre (EBN#3) is performed successfully from ISTRAC, Bengaluru. ISRO's ground stations at Mauritius, Bengaluru, SDSC-SHAR and Port Blair tracked the satellite during this operation. The new orbit attained is 296 km x 71767 km,” ISRO posted on X.
“The next manoeuvre (EBN#4) is scheduled for September 15, 2023, around 02:00 Hrs. IST,” the Indian space agency added.
Aditya L1 had previously completed the second earth-bound manoeuvre, achieving an orbit of 282 km x 40225 km on September 5.
Following the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 near the moon's south pole, the ISRO launched the country's first solar mission, Aditya-L1, on September 2 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
It carried seven separate payloads to conduct a detailed study of the Sun, four of which will observe the Sun's light and the other three will measure in-situ plasma and magnetic field properties.
Aditya-L1 will be placed into a halo orbit around Lagrangian Point 1 (or L1), 1.5 million kilometres from Earth in the direction of the sun.
It is expected to complete the journey in four months.
Aditya-L1 would study the Sun's outer atmosphere, which is a massive sphere of gas.
According to ISRO, Aditya-L1 will not land on the sun or get any closer to it.
Because of its strategic location, Aditya-L1 will be able to continually observe the sun without being hindered by eclipses or occultation, allowing scientists to research solar activity and their impact on space weather in real time. Furthermore, the data from the spacecraft will aid in identifying the sequence of processes that lead to solar eruptive events, contributing to a better understanding of space weather drivers.
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- With inputs from agencies
