By-Srushti Sharma
In order to make sure it is headed towards a specific location in space where it can study the sun, India's first solar observatory has corrected its trajectory
On September 2, India launched Aditya-L1, which would travel 110 days to a location in orbit approximately 1 million miles (1.5 million km) from Earth.
The goal of Aditya-L1 is to enter a halo orbit around Earth-sun Lagrange point 1
A gravitationally stable region that will provide the spacecraft with a direct line of sight to the sun.
"A Trajectory Correction Manoeuvre (TCM), originally provisioned, was performed on October 6, 2023, for about 16 seconds,"
After tracking the Trans-Lagrangean Point 1 Insertion (TL1I) manoeuvre carried out on September 19, 2023, the trajectory evaluation required correction.
Aditya-L1 is on a five-year mission to study the sun, and it is carrying seven payloads. This marks the second instance in which India has launched a spacecraft outside of Earth's orbit
While the mission's L1 suffix derives from the place from where it would operate, "Aditya" means "the sun" in Sanskrit.