Aditya L-1 Mission: ISRO Aims for Crucial Earth-Bound Maneuver  on September 15  

BY - Priyanka Rai

Aditya L-1 is India's first solar space observatory, launched on September 2, 2023

On September 10, 2023, ISRO executed the third Earth-bound maneuver for Aditya L-1

Aditya L-1 will undergo two additional maneuvers on September 15, 2023, to attain the required velocity for its journey to Lagrange Point-1 

Lagrange Point-1 (L-1) is approximately 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, where gravitational forces between the Sun and Earth are balanced, allowing for relative stability

Aditya L-1 will establish itself in an orbit around L-1 upon reaching the point, following an irregular "Halo Orbit

The mission aims to study the Sun's chromospheric and coronal heating, partially ionized plasma behavior, and phenomena like coronal mass ejections and solar flares

Aditya L-1 has seven distinct payloads to explore various layers of the Sun and provide real-time data on the coronal layer

The satellite will also investigate the creation and composition of solar wind and space weather, issuing warnings when solar winds change direction toward Earth

Aditya L-1 captured self-portraits and images of Earth and the Moon during its journey to L-1

Several Earth-bound maneuvers were performed before reaching L-1 to attain the required orbit, with the fourth maneuver scheduled for September 15, 2023, at 02.00 a.m