In a significant milestone for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Aditya-L1, India’s solar observatory in space, has achieved a successful departure from the gravitational influence of Earth. Aditya-L1 has traveled more than 920,000 kilometers to date and is now en route to reach Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 1 (L1), as reported by ISRO on a recent Saturday.
This achievement marks the second consecutive instance of ISRO sending a spacecraft beyond Earth’s sphere of influence, with the first being the Mars Orbiter Mission.
Furthermore, this accomplishment underscores ISRO’s continued success in transferring objects on trajectories to various celestial bodies or locations in space. ISRO has previously directed spacecraft toward the moon three times and once toward Mars.
Here are some notable details about the Aditya-L1 mission:
The Aditya-L1 mission commenced with its launch into a low Earth orbit (LEO) on September 2, utilizing the Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle –XL (PSLV-XL) variant. Since then, ISRO has elevated the spacecraft’s orbit four times.
As the spacecraft embarks on its journey toward L1, exiting Earth’s gravitational sphere of influence, it will enter the cruise phase and ultimately be inserted into a large halo orbit around L1. L1 is the point where the gravitational forces of the Sun and Earth are in equilibrium, ensuring the spacecraft remains unaffected by the gravitational pull of either body.
The estimated duration for Aditya-L1’s entire journey from launch to L1 is approximately four months, covering a distance of approximately 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.