Moon mission successful, India`s Sun mission Aditya-L1 to be launched in two weeks

India is now the first country in the world to land a spacecraft on the rugged, unexplored south pole of the moon, which is seen as a mission crucial to lunar exploration and India‍‍`s standing as a space power. With their spirits high, it’s time to delve deeper into what is next for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), reports Times of India.

Recently, ISRO released images of the Aditya-L1 mission, which will be the agency‍‍`s first attempt to study the Sun. 

As of now, the launch date of the mission has not been announced yet. If reports are to go by, the satellite has already reached the Satish Dhawan Space Center (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, for its integration with the launch vehicle, PSLV.

Referring to this, ISRO stated that the Aditya-L1 will be the first space-based Indian observatory to study the Sun, and is getting ready for the launch.

Credit: iStock

Reports have it that the Aditya-L1 will observe the Sun from a close distance, and try to gather information about its atmosphere and magnetic field. 

It will come equipped with seven payloads (instruments) on board to study the Sun’s corona, solar winds, solar emissions, and flares, and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), and will carry out round-the-clock imaging of the Sun.

It’s reported that Aditya-L1 will not face extreme heat as it is slated to stay away from the Sun in comparison with NASA’s mission. But there will be challenges, of course.