Aditya L1 highlights: ‘Looking forward to lot of scientific outcomes,’ says ISRO chairman on maiden solar mission

On ISRO's Solar Mission Aditya-L1 entering Halo Orbit, NASA Scientist Dr Amitabha Ghosh says, “India is right now in most of the areas where it's scientifically important. And then there is 'Gaganyaan' which is the human space flight part, that is in the works right now. So been a tremendous strike for the last 20 years. So going from, not having a planetary science program to where we stand today, and where we stand after the success of Aditya. It's been a very remarkable journey.”

(ANI)

“Today, India and our scientists have achieved a huge success. I express my gratitude to everyone. On behalf of the people of Rajasthan, I thank Indian scientists for their efforts,” Joshi told PTI.

“ISRO achieves another milestone by successfully placing India's maiden solar probe Aditya-L1 in Halo orbit near Lagrange Point L1, to study the Sun. This achievement is testament to growing space prowess of our country,” Ram Nath Kovind wrote on X.

Union minister Smriti Irani is the latest among leaders praising the country and ISRO on success of Aditya L1. Taking to X, Irani wrote, “Celebrating a major leap in space exploration, India proudly announces the successful journey of Aditya-L1, the first solar observatory. A tribute to the perseverance of our brilliant scientists in conquering advanced space missions. Congratulations on this exceptional achievement.”

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday hailed the country's first solar mission craft Aditya-L1 reaching its destination, the L1 point, and said it was yet another milestone in Bharat's journey through space.

The Aditya-L1 reached its destination, the L1 point, about 1.5 million kilometres from Earth from where it will orbit the Sun and study our star's wonders, uninterrupted by eclipses and occultation.

"Another milestone in Bharat's journey through space!! Our first solar observatory #AdityaL1 reaches its destination in the space. It is a momentous event in history that takes us closer to our civilizational goal of achieving human welfare through excellence in science and technology," Shah wrote on X.

Speaking to reporters, ISRO Chairman Somanath on Saturday said that the Aditya L1 mission was rather complex and not challenging. “It was a complex mission, I won't say challenging mission. Challenges are something which we love, complexities are something which we have to overcome. Today, we have overcome the complexity, and we were able to achieve that very precisely…” he said.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Saturday successfully placed Adiyta-L1, the first space-based Indian observatory to study the Sun, into its destination orbit Lagrange Point-1 - which is around 1.5 million kilometers from the Earth. According to ISRO officials, a satellite in a Halo orbit around the L1 point has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultations or eclipses. Read More

Speaking about the country's maiden solar mission Aditya L1, ISRO Chairman Somanath said, "Today's event was only placing the Aditya-L1 in the precise Halo orbit. So it was moving towards a high orbit, but we had to do a little bit of corrections... So right now, in our calculation, it is at the right place. But we are going to monitor it for the next few hours to see whether it is at the right place…So we look forward to a lot of scientific outcomes in the coming days. At least five years of life is guaranteed with the fuel left out in the satellite..."

The ISRO on Saturday released an official statement on its successful solar mission. “Halo-Orbit Insertion (HOI) of its solar observatory spacecraft, Aditya-L1 was accomplished at 16.00 Hrs (approx) on January 6, 2024 (IST). The final phase of the maneuver involved firing of control engines for a short duration,” ISRO said in its statement.

Internet flooded with messages hailing ISRO's Aditya L1 mission post its successful entering into Halo orbit.

"I I think it's a great feat... I have seen the Space, program for many years. I have been a member of the Space Commission. I think a moment of great pride for us just like the Chandrayaan program was...": EAM Jaishankar said lauding the Aditya L1 mission.

“There is a solar exclusion zone which is about 5 degrees. So we placed our satellite in Halo orbit. This halo orbit is perpendicular to the line of sight towards the sun. So in moving in that orbit, our satellite is always looking at the sun. So 24 hours a day and all the days of the year, it is going to observe the Sun. For ISRO reaching L1 and placing a satellite in an orbit around it is remarkable. It's for the first time. The second thing is, for all Indian institutions that have payloads on Aditya L1...”: Space Scientist & Astronomer RC Kapoor

“This also becomes significant from India's point of view that now we have a huge, huge stake in space. We have a number of satellites operating and therefore it is imperative for us to discover the various phenomena emanating from the Sun - the magnetic fields, the occurrence of solar storms. Now, what Aditya L1 is going to feed us with, is something that the rest of the world will also be looking forward to”, said Jitendra Singh.

Speaking to PTI about Aditya L1 mission director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics Annapurni Subramaniam said, “The Halo Orbit Insertion has been done and it is a very important moment in the journey of Aditya L1. Now the mission will start its transition from the cruise phase to the orbit phase. In this phase we will be able to do all the science operations.”

Speaking to news agency PTI former ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair lauded ISRO for successfully entering the Langrange point. He said, “The Aditya L1 has reached the Lagrangian point. #ISRO has achieved it with great precision, and past experiences have surely helped them achieve this. This mission will provide input for understanding the basic phenomenon occurring on the Sun’s surface. It will help in predicting severe solar winds.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took to social platform X to congratulate the country after Aditya L1 parked at Lagrange Point 1 to study Sun. Read More

I join nation in applauding extraordinary feat; we'll continue to pursue new frontiers of science: PM Modi on Aditya L-1.

Union Minister of State Science & Technology Dr Jitendra Singh tweets, "What a glorious turn of year for Bharat. Under the visionary leadership of PM Modi, yet another success story scripted by Team ISRO. Aditya L1 reaches its final orbit to discover the mysteries of the Sun-Earth connection."

“The Sun is a very dynamic star that extends much beyond what we see. It shows several eruptive phenomena and releases immense amounts of energy in the solar system. If such explosive solar phenomena is directed towards the earth, it could cause various types of disturbances in the near earth space environment,” said ISRO.

ISRO's first Sun mission successfuly injected into final orbit

Magnetometer payload is capable of measuring interplanetary magnetic fields at the L1 point. The payload is developed at Laboratory for Electro Optics Systems, Bengaluru.

Aditya-L1 is anticipated to remain for the next five years. Situated at a distance of 1.5 million km from Earth, the Aditya-L1 satellite, launched from Sriharikota on September 2, will execute a crucial manoeuvre upon reaching L1.