Aditya-L1

Aditya-L1 (/ɑːd̪it̪jə/)[lower-alpha 1](from Sanskrit: Aditya, "sun" and L1, "Lagrange 1 Point") a coronagraphy spacecraft to study the solar atmosphere, designed and developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and various other Indian research institutes.[1] It will be orbiting at about 1.5 million km from Earth in a halo orbit around the L1 Lagrange point between the Earth and the Sun where it will study the solar atmosphere, solar magnetic storms, and their impact on the environment around the Earth.[7]

Aditya-L1
Aditya-L1 in deployed configuration
Mission typeSolar observation
OperatorISRO
COSPAR ID2023-132A
SATCAT no.57754Edit this on Wikidata
Websitewww.isro.gov.in/Aditya_L1.html
Mission duration5.2 years (planned)[1]
1 month and 23 days (elapsed)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftPSLV-XL/C-57
Spacecraft typePSLV
BusI-1K[2]
ManufacturerISRO / IUCAA / IIA
Launch mass1,475 kg (3,252 lb)[3]
Payload mass244 kg (538 lb)[1]
Start of mission
Launch date2 September 2023 (2023-09-02), 11:50 IST (06:20 UTC)[4][5]
RocketPSLV-XL
Launch siteSatish Dhawan Space Centre
ContractorISRO
Orbital parameters
Reference systemSun–Earth L1 orbit
RegimeHalo orbit
Period177.86 days[6]
EpochJanuary 2024 (planned)

Mission Insignia  

It is the first Indian mission dedicated to observing the Sun. Nigar Shaji is the project's director.[8][9][10][11] Aditya-L1 was launched aboard the PSLV C57 at 11:50 IST on 2 September 2023,[12][4][5] ten days after the successful landing of ISRO's Moon mission, Chandrayaan-3. It successfully achieved its intended orbit nearly an hour later, and separated from its fourth stage at 12:57 IST.[13] It is projected to reach its designated orbit at the L1 point approximately 127 days after its launch.[14]

Science objectives

The main objectives of Aditya L1 are:

History
Aditya-L1 in stowed configuration
Aditya-L1 in deployed configuration

Aditya was conceptualised in January 2008 by the Advisory Committee for Space Sciences (ADCOS).[16][17] It was initially envisaged as a small 400 kg (880 lb) satellite in a Low Earth Orbit (800 km) with a coronagraph to study the solar corona. An experimental budget of ₹3 crore was allocated for the financial year 2016–2017.[18][19][20] The scope of the mission has since been expanded and it became a comprehensive solar and space environment observatory to be placed at Lagrange point L1,[21] hence the mission was renamed "Aditya-L1". As of July 2019, the mission has an allocated cost of ₹378 crores excluding launch costs.[5]

Overview
Lagrange points in the Sun–Earth system (not to scale) – a small object at any one of the five points will hold its relative position.

The Aditya-L1 mission will take around 109 Earth days after launch[22] to reach the halo orbit around the L1 point, which is about 1,500,000 km (930,000 mi) from Earth. The spacecraft is planned to remain in the halo orbit for its mission duration while being maintained at a stationkeeping Δv of 0.2–4 m/s per year.[23] The 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) satellite carries seven science payloads with various objectives, including instruments to measure coronal heating, solar wind acceleration, coronal magnetometry, origin and monitoring of near-UV solar radiation (which drives Earth's upper atmospheric dynamics and global climate), coupling of the solar photosphere to the chromosphere and corona,[24] and in-situ characterisations of the space environment around Earth by measuring energetic particle fluxes and magnetic fields of the solar wind, and solar magnetic storms.[1]

Aditya-L1 will provide observations of the sun's photosphere, chromosphere and corona. Its scientific payloads must be placed outside the interference from the Earth's magnetic field and hence could not have been useful in the low Earth orbit as proposed in the original Aditya mission concept.[25]

One of the major unsolved problems in the field of solar physics is coronal heating. The upper atmosphere of the Sun has a temperature of 1,000,000 K (1,000,000 °C; 1,800,000 °F) whereas the lower atmosphere is just 6,000 K (5,730 °C; 10,340 °F). In addition, it is not understood exactly how the Sun's radiation affects the dynamics of the Earth's atmosphere on a shorter as well as a longer time scale. The mission will obtain near-simultaneous images of the different layers of the Sun's atmosphere, which will reveal the ways in which energy is channeled and transferred from one layer to another. Thus, the Aditya-L1 mission will enable a comprehensive understanding of the dynamical processes of the Sun and address some of the outstanding problems in solar physics and heliophysics.

Payloads
Spacecraft preparing for launch

The instruments of Aditya-L1 are tuned to observe the solar atmosphere, mainly the chromosphere and corona. In-situ instruments will observe the local environment at L1. There are seven payloads on-board, with four for remote sensing of the Sun and three for in-situ observation. The payloads have been developed by different laboratories in the country with close collaborations of various ISRO centres.[26]

Type Sl.No Payload Capability Laboratories
Remote Sensing Payloads 1 Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) Corona Imaging and spectroscopy Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore
2 Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) Photosphere and chromosphere imaging-narrow and broadband Inter University Centre for Astronomy & Astrophysics, Pune
3 Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS) Soft X-ray spectrometer: Sun-as-a-star observation U R Rao Satellite Centre, Bangalore
4 High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer(HEL1OS) Hard X-ray spectrometer: Sun-as-a-star observation
In-situ Payloads 5 Aditya Solar wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX) Solar wind and Particle analyzer: Protons and Heavier ions with directions Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad
6 Plasma Analyser Package For Aditya (PAPA) Solar wind and Particle Analyzer: Electrons and Heavier Ions with directions Space Physics Laboratory, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram
7 Advanced Tri-axial High Resolution Digital Magnetometers In-situ magnetic field (Bx, By and Bz). Laboratory for Electro Optics Systems, Bangalore

Visible Emission Line coronagraph (VELC)

The Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) is a key instrument on India's Aditya-L1 space solar mission. The VELC is an internally occulted reflective coronagraph designed to fulfil specific observation needs. The instrument allows for high spatial resolution imaging (1.25-2.5 arc seconds) of the Sun's corona, simultaneous observations in three modes (Imaging, Spectroscopy and Spectro-polarimetry), and even utilities artificial intelligence to aid in the detection of coronal mass ejections (CME's).[27]

Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT)

The SUIT is an ultraviolet imaging telescope designed to study the solar spectral radiation in the ultraviolet range, using narrowband and broadband spectral filters in the range of 200-400 nm with the hope of developing a better understanding between solar activity and the atmospheric dynamics of Earth. The SUIT provides near-simultaneous coverage of the solar atmosphere, from lower photosphere to the upper chromosphere. The instrument was developed by Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics. (lUCAA), in collaboration with ISRO.[27]

Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS)

The SoLEXS is an X-ray spectrometer designed to continuously measure the solar soft X-ray flux (1 keV-22 keV) from the Sun-Earth Lagrangian point L1. These measurements can be used to better understand the properties of the Sun's corona, in particular, why the temperature of the corona is so high. The SoLEXS will observe solar flares, and in conjunction with data provided by the VELC, will help study the complex thermal properties of the Sun's outer layers.[27]

Mission Profile
Flight Sequence of PSLV-C57

Launch
PSLV-C57 on launch pad housing Aditya-L1

On 2 September 2023, at 11:50 IST, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C57) accomplished a successful launch of the Aditya-L1 from the Second Launch Pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) located in Sriharikota.

Aditya-L1, following a flight duration of 63 minutes and 20 seconds, achieved a successful injection into an elliptical orbit around the Earth at 12:54 IST.[28]

Aditya-L1 is scheduled to undergo a series of four Earth-bound orbital maneuvres prior to its injection to a transfer orbit towards the L1 Lagrange point. It is projected to reach its designated orbit at the L1 point approximately 127 days after its launch.[14]

Orbit raising burns
Trajectory of PSLV-C57/Aditya L1 Mission

First orbit raising burn

On 3 September 2023, the Aditya-L1 performed its first Earth-bound maneuvre, raising its orbit to a 245 km (152 mi) into 22,459 km (13,955 mi) orbit.[29]

Second orbit raising burn

On 5 September 2023, Aditya-L1 performed its second Earth-bound maneuvre, raising its orbit to a 282 km (175 mi) into 40,225 km (24,995 mi) orbit.

Third orbit raising burn

On 10 September 2023, Aditya-L1 performed its third Earth-bound maneuvre, raising its orbit to a 296 km (184 mi) into 71,767 km (44,594 mi) orbit.

Fourth orbit raising burn

On 15 September 2023, Aditya-L1 performed its fourth Earth-bound maneuvre, raising its original orbit to a 256 km (159 mi) into 121,973 km (75,791 mi) orbit. This is the last of such maneuvres, being directly followed by the Trans-Lagrangian 1 Injection, bound to take place on 19 September.

Trans-Lagrangian 1 Injection

On 19 September 2023, Aditya-L1 performed its last maneuvre around Earth to escape its orbit and headed towards the Lagrange 1 point. It will take at least 4 months to further reach its destination, 1.5 million kilometers away.[30]

On 30 September 2023, Aditya-L1 had escaped the Earth’s sphere of influence and was on the way to the Lagrange 1 point.[30]

Trajectory correction maneuvre

On 6 October 2023, Aditya-L1 performed a Trajectory Correction maneuvre (TCM1). It was needed to correct the trajectory evaluated after tracking the Trans-Lagrangian Point 1 Insertion (TL1I) maneuvre performed on September 19, 2023.[31]

Mission stages and maneuvres
Stage and Sequence Date/Time Time (IST) Periapsis Apoapsis Orbital Period Burn TIme Ref.
Launch
Earth Orbit Insertion 2 September 2023 12:54 p.m 235 km (146 mi) 19,500 km (12,100 mi) 22 hours, 46 minutes [32]
Earth Bound maneuvres
Earth Bound maneuvre 1 3 September 2023 11:40 a.m. 245 km (152 mi) 22,459 km (13,955 mi) 39 hours, 20 minutes [33]
Earth Bound maneuvre 2 5 September 2023 3:00 a.m 282 km (175 mi) 40,225 km (24,995 mi) 4 days, 23 hours and 30 minutes [34]
Earth Bound maneuvre 3 10 September 2023 2:30 am 296 km (184 mi) 71,767 km (44,594 mi) 4 days, 23 hours and 45 minutes [35]
Earth Bound maneuvre 4 15 September 2023 2:15 am 256 km (159 mi) 121,973 km (75,791 mi) 3 days, 23 hours and 45 minutes [36]
Trans-Lagrangian Point 1 Injection 19 September 2023 2:00 am [37]
Trajectory correction maneuvres
Trajectory Correction maneuvre (TCM1) 6 October 2023 16s [38]
Halo orbit injection
Halo orbit insertion January 2024
Animation of Aditya-L1
Around the Earth
Around the L1 point - Frame rotating with Earth
   Aditya-L1 ·    Earth ·    L1 point

Team

See also

References
  1. from Sanskrit Āditya, a synonym for the Hindu solar deity Surya
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  33. ISRO [@isro] (3 September 2023). "The satellite is healthy and operating nominally. The first Earth-bound maneuvre (EBN#1) is performed successfully from ISTRAC, Bengaluru. The new orbit attained is 245km x 22459 km. The next maneuvre (EBN#2) is scheduled for September 5, 2023, around 03:00 Hrs. IST" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  34. ISRO [@isro] (4 September 2023). "Aditya-L1 Mission: The second Earth-bound maneuvre (EBN#2) is performed successfully from ISTRAC, Bengaluru. ISTRAC/ISRO's ground stations at Mauritius, Bengaluru and Port Blair tracked the satellite during this operation. The new orbit attained is 282 km x 40225 km. The next maneuvre (EBN#3) is scheduled for September 10, 2023, around 02:30 Hrs. IST" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  35. ISRO [@isro] (9 September 2023). "Aditya-L1 Mission:The third Earth-bound maneuvre (EBN#3) is performed successfully from ISTRAC, Bengaluru.ISRO's ground stations at Mauritius, Bengaluru, SDSC-SHAR and Port Blair tracked the satellite during this operation.The new orbit attained is 296 km x 71767 km. The next maneuvre (EBN#4) is scheduled for September 15, 2023, around 02:00 Hrs. IST" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  36. ISRO [@isro] (14 September 2023). "Aditya-L1 Mission: The fourth Earth-bound maneuvre (EBN#4) is performed successfully. ISRO's ground stations at Mauritius, Bengaluru, SDSC-SHAR and Port Blair tracked the satellite during this operation, while a transportable terminal currently stationed in the Fiji islands for Aditya-L1 will support post-burn operations. The new orbit attained is 256 km x 121973 km. The next maneuvre Trans-Lagragean Point 1 Insertion (TL1I) a send-off from the Earth is scheduled for September 19, 2023, around 02:00 Hrs.IST" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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