Why was Aditya-L1 launched? A closer look at India’s first mission to the Sun

After reaching the moon with Chandrayaan-3, India has achieved yet another significant milestone with the successful launch of its inaugural solar study mission, Aditya-L1. The importance of surveying our nearest star, the Sun, remains somewhat obscure to many, but it primarily stems from the potential harm it can inflict on our planet. Solar storms and the fiery eruptions it emits, when aimed at Earth, have the capacity to wreak havoc on a colossal scale.

The primary objectives of Aditya-L1 encompass an in-depth examination of the intricacies of the solar corona and its heating mechanism, the acceleration of the solar wind, the interplay and dynamics of the solar atmosphere, the distribution and temperature variances within the solar wind, and the origins of Coronal Mass Ejections and solar flares, as well as their effects on near-Earth space weather. Aditya-L1's mission is to decode the emergence and repercussions of these solar storms and flares on Earth and our activities in space.

After a journey spanning approximately 1.5 million kilometres from Earth over 125 days, the spacecraft is poised to enter a Halo orbit around the Lagrangian point L1, situated in closest proximity to the Sun. This mission's profound significance lies in its association with Lagrange points—celestial equilibrium points named after the renowned French mathematician Joseph-Louis Lagrange. These points are where the gravitational forces between celestial bodies like the Sun and Earth harmonise with the centripetal force experienced by an artificial satellite.

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Centripetal force, in this context, refers to the force acting on an object in a curved motion, directed towards the axis of rotation or the centre of curvature.

From the advantageous vantage point of Lagrangian point L1, crucial for missions monitoring space weather or Earth's space environment, Aditya-L1 endeavours to unravel the enigmatic nature of the Sun.

Severe space weather can have dire consequences, impacting telecommunication and navigation networks, high-frequency radio communications, air traffic along polar routes, electric power grids, and oil pipelines in high-latitude regions of our planet.

Furthermore, the mission aims to fathom how solar storms on the Sun's surface spawn high-energy charged particles capable of jeopardising satellites and disrupting our modern way of life.

Scientists will have to exercise patience, waiting approximately four months before they can witness Aditya-L1 in operation and assess the overall success of this pioneering mission.

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