India Is Securing the Space Frontiers with the Aditya-L1

After successful launch of Chandrayan 3 India has made another leap in space exploration with the insertion of Aditya –L1 spacecraft. This aircraft is the India’s first mission to study the Sun. It has moved into the ‘halo’ orbit around the Lagrange 1 point. Scientifically it is the one of the five locations in the Earth-Sun system where the gravitational effects of the both and also the centripetal force on any satellite placed on this location, cancel each other. In simple words it is the stable point for a spacecraft to be parked to observe the Sun. This is indeed a feat to celebrate as far as the achievements in the space science are concerned. As putting the Aditya spacecraft in the ‘halo’ orbit around L1 was not as simple as putting any satellite around Earth or any other planetary body like Moon or Saturn. It is routinely done by almost all space organisations around the world. In case of Aditya the situation is different as at L1 there is no material object. It is just an empty space or to be precise a location. One more point that makes this insertion important from the point of view of space science is that all celestial bodies have orbits that are either elliptical or circular. But that is not the case with the L1.It is complex. It is approximately perpendicular to the line joining the Earth and the Sun. That makes the insertion into this orbit very challenging from the point of view of space missions. This manoeuvre needs apt timing and precision. After this successful placement of Aditya in L1 things are not easy as ISRO will have to carry out  more manoeuvres from time to time in this orbit. This solar observatory will surely place India in the elite league of space explorations. ISRO is the third space agency after NASA and European Space Agency to place a spacecraft at the L1 point to observe the Sun. Entry into this orbit happened after 127 days after the launch of Aditya –L1on 2nd September last year within a few days of successful Chandrayan 3 historic landing on the Moon. This four month journey to L1 is the second longest one that Indian spacecraft had made to reach its destination. This spacecraft is carrying seven payloads. As per the inputs from the scientific community monitoring this successful solar mission all payloads are working as per the expectations. They have started the monitoring the activities like solar flares. What makes this mission important and unique is that all the instruments on-board Aditya will be operational for the first time at L1.As the previous instruments used to study the Sun by missions conducted by the other space agencies have not used the combination of such instruments so far. The coronagraph used in this combination can give the close view of the Sun. As it has X-ray spectrometer besides the instruments having the capability to perform multi-slit spectroscopy, spectropolarimetry and take the full-disc ultraviolet images. This achievement must give confidence to scientific community and people in India that mysteries of the space are no longer hidden from the human eye. India is entering a new phase in technological advancement. Over the decades India has established its expertise in terms IT all over the globe and its IT professionals are termed as the best. Now the foray into space technology after its success in Moon mission and  the path breaking launch of Aditya –L1 is destined to make India to lead the world towards new global order. India’s advancement in space missions makes it a global power to reckon with. India is defining its new frontiers as well securing these new frontiers. The nation has every reason to celebrate the New Year with new enthusiasm and fervour.