India’s Aditya is eyeing the Sun completed first halo orbit of l1 point in 178 days\

Aditya L1 Mission : India’s first solar mission ‘Aditya-L1’ spacecraft has completed its first halo orbit around the L1 point of the Sun and Earth i.e. the Lagrange point. The Indian Space Agency (ISRO) has given this information. The distance of Lagrange Point 1 is 15 lakh kilometers from the Earth towards the Sun. This is the place where Aditya L-1 is stationed and tracking the activities happening in the Sun. Aditya L-1 spacecraft was launched on 2 September last year. On 6 January 2024, it entered the halo orbit of the L1 point.

Aditya-L1: Celebration of First Orbit Completion 🌞🛰️
Today, Aditya-L1 completed its first halo orbit around the Sun-Earth L1 point. Inserted on January 6, 2024, it took 178 days to complete a revolution.

Today’s station-keeping manoeuvre ensured its seamless transition into… pic.twitter.com/yB6vZQpIvE

— ISRO (@isro) July 2, 2024

ISRO says that in the halo orbit, the Aditya L-1 spacecraft takes 178 days to complete one revolution around the L-1 point. ISRO said that while revolving in the halo orbit, Aditya L-1 comes in contact with many forces, due to which there is a possibility of it going out of orbit.

The agency said that to maintain this orbit, Aditya-L1’s route was changed twice on February 22 and June 7. This was done for the third time on Tuesday so that the spacecraft continues to travel in a second halo orbit around L1.

What is the purpose of Aditya L1

The aim of the mission is to study the photosphere, chromosphere and corona of the Sun. This is India’s first space based observatory. Aditya has a special eye on events occurring in the Sun such as coronal mass ejection, solar flare.

What is the L1 point of the Sun-Earth

The L1 point is 15 lakh kilometers away from the Earth. The Sun can always be monitored from here. The Aditya spacecraft has taken 7 scientific instruments with it. All of these are indigenous and have been prepared by various departments of India. With the help of the instruments, different parts of the Sun are being studied.