Indian probe to study the Sun enters solar orbit

Aditya-L1 mission is the first from an Asian nation to orbit the Sun. After four months of traveling through space, the probe reaches its destination, where it will study the outer layers of the star. The solar observation mission launched by India has reached its destination this Saturday (01/06), after a four-month journey through space. Named after a Hindu deity, the Aditya-L1 probe will orbit the Sun to study its outer layers.

The solar observatory is parked at the so-called Lagrange point 1 (L1), where the gravitational forces of the Sun and Earth cancel each other out, allowing it to remain in a stable orbit.

Celebrating yet another achievement for the Indian space program, the country's Minister of Science and Technology, Jitendra Singh, said that the probe's mission will be to “uncover the mysteries of the connection between the Sun and the Earth”.

“India creates another historic milestone. […] It is a testament to the tireless dedication of our scientists in carrying out one of the most complex space missions”, wrote Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media. “We will continue to pursue new frontiers of science for the benefit of humanity.”

What is the objective of the Aditya-L1 mission?

The Aditya-L1 satellite was successfully launched in September 2023, ten days after India became the first nation in the world to land on the Moon's south pole.

The solar mission, the first of its kind by the Indian space agency, is expected to record the Sun's activity for five years. It will especially study the so-called coronal mass ejections, a periodic phenomenon in which enormous discharges of plasma and magnetic energy occur from the Sun's atmosphere.

These explosions are so powerful that they can hit Earth and potentially disrupt the operations of satellites, communications facilities and power stations.

Aditya-L1 will also be able to act as an early warning system for solar storms, with a head start of approximately one hour.

The probe weighs just over 1.4 tons. Although the Indian space agency did not disclose the cost of the mission, the local press estimates that it cost around 48 million dollars (approximately R$237 million).

First Asian mission to orbit the Sun

With this, India becomes part of the select group of countries that have launched missions to study the Sun. The American NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have sent several probes to the center of the Solar System since the 1960s.

Japan and China also launched solar observation missions, but located in the Earth's orbit, not the Sun's. Aditya-L1 is, therefore, the first mission from an Asian nation to orbit the star.

India's comparatively low-budget space program has achieved several achievements in recent years, including becoming the first Asian nation to put a spacecraft into orbit around Mars in 2014.

In August 2023, an Indian probe made a historic landing on the unexplored south pole of the Moon. It is to this region that the United States intends to send the first female astronaut and the first black astronaut in December 2025, in the new Artemis lunar program.

Driven by Prime Minister Modi, India has privatized space launches and is looking to open the sector to foreign investment, with the aim of quintupling its share of the global launch market over the next decade.

ek (Reuters, AFP)