India this Saturday launched a rocket carrying a solar probe for a four-month journey to the sun, a moment broadcast live by the Indian Space Research Organization, which is promoting the mission.
After the rocket lifted off on time from its launch pad on Sriharikota Island in South India, mission control technicians applauded.
The launch comes just over a week after India landed a robot-powered probe at the moon’s south pole, an unprecedented feat in space exploration.
The Aditya-L1 satellite will be placed 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, at the so-called Lagrange point 1 (L1).
Time and time again, our scientists have proven their power and genius. The nation is proud and delighted with the successful launch of Aditya L1, India’s first solar mission.
Kudos to the team @isro for this unparalleled achievement. It’s a big step towards fulfilling PM… pic.twitter.com/XEacBvLxoj
– Amit Shah (@AmitShah) September 2, 2023
Aditya, meaning Sun in Hindi, will record solar activity, in particular the dynamics of solar winds (continuous emission of subatomic particles from the solar corona) and their effects on space weather.
The device is equipped with seven modules to observe two of the outer layers of the sun’s atmosphere — the chromosphere and the corona — and detectors of electromagnetic fields and particles, according to the Indian Space Agency.
Europe and the United States already have probes observing the sun, Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar, but this is India’s first time studying the star.
On August 23, India became the first country to land a spacecraft on the south pole of the moon, an unexplored area that will be home to large amounts of ice water.
It is in this region that the United States aims to place the first female astronaut and the first black astronaut in December 2025, under the new Artemis lunar program.
Only the United States had astronauts on the lunar surface between 1969 and 1972, all of them male, under the Apollo program.
Source: DN
