"Aditya L1 Will Enter L1 Point On January 6": ISRO Chairman
Aditya L1, India’s maiden solar mission is expected to reach its destination, the Lagrange point (L1) which is 1.5 million km from away from earth, on January 6, 2024, said S Somanath, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman. ISRO launched Aditya L1 mission on September 2 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) at Sriharikota.
During the sidelines of the Bharatiya Vigyan Sammelan, Mr. Somanath said, “Aditya L1 will enter the L1 point on January 6. That is what is expected, exact time will be announced at appropriate time”. He also added that when Aditya L1 reaches the L1 point, its engine should be fired once again to that “it does not go further. It will go to that point, and once it reaches that point, it will rotate around it and will be trapped at L1”. He said the data obtained by Aditya L1 will very important not only for India but for the entire world and said the data obtained will be very useful in understanding the dynamics of the Sun.
The ISRO Chairman also stated about India’s plan to build an Indian Space Station called as Bharatiya Space Station during the “Amrit kaal”, as per Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s instruction. He said the space sector is seeing new emergence, India will encourage “and build the economy around new generation”. He further added that while India cannot be a leader in everything, the country can focus on sectors where it can lead.
ISRO launched Aditya L1 to study the happenings around the Sun. The spacecraft will study the outer layer of Sun from the Lagrange point which is approximately 1.5 million km or 0.01 au away from the Earth. The L1 point offers a protective shield from the Sun’s radiation and gives an uninterrupted view of the Sun, making it a perfect place for the solar observatories. Before Aditya L1, China’s Chang’e-5 and European Space Agency (ESA) and US’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) joint mission SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) has reached the L1 point.
