India aims for the Sun with launch of Aditya L1 after historic Moon landing

India’s space agency ISRO has successfully launched Aditya L1 which is the country’s first space based mission to study the Sun.

According to ISRO “the spacecraft shall be placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrange point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system, which is about 1.5 million km from the Earth. A satellite placed in the halo orbit around the L1 point has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation/eclipses.”

“This will provide a greater advantage of observing the solar activities and its effect on space weather in real time.”

PSLV-C57/Aditya-L1 Mission:
The preparations for the launch are progressing.

The Launch Rehearsal – Vehicle Internal Checks are completed.

Images and Media Registration Link https://t.co/V44U6X2L76 #AdityaL1 pic.twitter.com/jRqdo9E6oM

— ISRO (@isro) August 30, 2023

India recently became the first country to achieve a soft landing on Moon’s South Pole with its Chandryaan 3 mission. Its ‘Vikram’ lander touched down on the lunar surface on 23rd August and the images being sent back by its ‘Pragyan’ rover are a sight to behold.

India is also only the fourth country after Russia (former USSR), America and China to successfully land anywhere on the moon.

… … and here is how the Chandrayaan-3 Rover ramped down from the Lander to the Lunar surface. pic.twitter.com/nEU8s1At0W

— ISRO (@isro) August 25, 2023