Country’s 1st solar observatory Aditya-L1 reaches destination

Congratulations pour in; yet another milestone, says Prime Minister Narendra Modi PM

PTI, New Delhi, Jan 6, 2023 : India’s Aditya-L1 solar probe settled at its destination on Saturday after travelling 15 lakh kilometres in space over 126 days and performing some deft manoeuvres, drawing congratulatory messages from across the political spectrum.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the announcement of Aditya-L1, which was launched on September 2, reaching the Lagrangian Point 1 from where the spacecraft will have an uninterrupted view of the sun, allowing it to study space weather triggered by solar storms and monitor its effects on the surroundings.

“India creates yet another landmark. India’s first solar observatory Aditya-L1 reaches its destination,” Modi said in a post on X and lauded the dedication of scientists in realising complex space missions.

President Droupadi Murmu lauded the entire scientist community for the achievement.

“This mission will enhance our knowledge of the sun-earth system and benefit the entire humanity. Significant participation of women scientists in ISRO missions takes women empowerment too onto a higher orbit,” Murmu said.

“From moon walk to sundance,” remarked Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh, recalling the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) successes ranging from the lunar landing of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, the recent launch of the XPoSat satellite and the placing of Aditya-L1 in the desired orbit.

Singh underlined the importance of studying space weather and cited the example of SpaceX losing 40 satellites last year when those ran into a solar storm.

“We have a number of satellites operating and therefore it is imperative for us to discover the various phenomena emanating from the sun — the magnetic fields, the occurrence of solar storms. Now, what Aditya-L1 is going to feed us with is something that the rest of the world will also be looking forward to,” the minister said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, “Another milestone in Bharat’s journey through space!! Our first solar observatory Aditya-L1 reaches its destination in space. It is a momentous event in history that takes us closer to our civilisational goal of achieving human welfare through excellence in science and technology.” Information and Broadcasting Minister Anruag Thakur termed the Aditya-L1 spacecraft reaching its destination as “another historic moment in our quest for space exploration”.

“Aditya-L1, India’s first solar observatory, arrives at its location, completing one of the trickiest and most demanding space missions,” Thakur said, referring to the firing of control engines aboard the spacecraft to steer it to the halo orbit.

According to ISRO, the halo orbit insertion demanded precise navigation and control and involved constant monitoring along with the adjustment of the spacecraft’s speed and position by using onboard thrusters.

The Lagrangian Point 1 is considered as an island of comparative stability in the everchanging gravitational fields in the solar system where a spacecraft can stay in a fixed location in relation to the earth.

“Many congratulations to Team ISRO for this spectacular achievement and bringing pride to the nation. Under the leadership of Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi ji, we’ll continue to explore novel areas of science for the betterment of mankind,” Thakur said.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said, “Wings of Fire! Congratulations to the dedicated scientists at ISRO for successfully inserting Bharat’s first solar observatory Aditya-L1 into its intended destination. First the moon, now the sun… our space journey is unstoppable.” BJP chief JP Nadda said, “The nation commends the scientific prowess and efforts of our dedicated scientists for the success of this important mission, which will further humanity’s understanding of various aspects of the sun.” Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said, “We join the nation in celebrating an extraordinary milestone by our dedicated scientists and space engineers at ISRO, as India’s first solar observatory Aditya-L1 reaches its destination.” Kharge said the journey to the sun began in 2006 when the scientists proposed a solar observatory with a single payload while the selection of seven payloads by ISRO was finalised in 2013.

Aditya-L1 has a mission life of five years and spacecraft in this location are known to serve for a longer duration as minimum fuel is required to keep those in orbit.