Has Aditya-L1 reached Lagrange point 1?
The Aditya-L1 mission is India's first try to study the Sun. The spacecraft was launched on 2nd September 2023. It will be put in an orbit 1.5 million kilometres from Earth, around the Sun-Earth system's Lagrange point 1 (L1).
It has been many days since the spacecraft was launched. But it takes time to reach the L1 point, and it is still on its way. After its launch, the spacecraft did four Earth-bound manoeuvres successfully. It has also started collecting scientific data.
What scientific data is Aditya-L1 collecting?
An instrument called the STEPS on the Aditya-L1 spacecraft has started collecting data. STEPS has six sensors. The data collected during the Earth's orbit will help scientists study the behaviour of particles moving around the Earth. STEPS was activated on 10th September 2023.
It's going to keep working while the spacecraft travels to the L1 point. It will continue functioning even after the spacecraft reaches its intended orbit. The information it collects near L1 might help scientists study solar wind and space weather.
STEPS was built by Ahmedabad's Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) and the Space Applications Centre (SAC).
How long till Aditya-L1 reaches the L1 point?
The spacecraft is on its way to the L1 point after ISRO successfully performed a move to send it towards the L1 point. It will take about 110 days before it is put into an orbit around the L1 point.
