After Chandrayaan-3, ISRO all set for ‘Aditya L-1’ Sun mission on Sept 2

Days after India scripted history by landing Chandrayaan-3 on the south pole of the moon, union minister of state of science & technology Jitendra Singh today said India is ready with the first Sun Mission “Aditya-L1”, which Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch, most likely on 2nd of September 2023.

After the Mars and Moon missions, Aditya L-1 is the third such mission by ISRO, which will study the energy sources from the Sun. ISRO also says that its Aditya-L1 Mission will be the first space-based Indian observatory to study the Sun.

With the entire world celebrating India’s Chandrayaan mission, the popular interest in the Sun mission has also increased manifold, says the minister. The Sun Space Mission Aditya-L1 will use the polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) with seven payloads.

The spacecraft will be based in a halo orbit around Lagrange point-1(L1) of the sun-earth system, which is about 1.5 million kilometre from the Earth. "A satellite placed in the halo orbit will have the major advantage of continuously viewing the sun without any eclipses," says Singh.

He says the Modi government liberated India’s space sector from the shackles of the past, and within a short span of four years, ISRO’s financial resources have increased. "The number of startups have gone up from 4 to 150 and the credibility of India’s satellite launching facility has suddenly soared so high that from the launching of European satellites, India has earned more than 260 million euros, and from the launching of American satellites, India has earned over 150 million US dollars."

The Union Cabinet, meanwhile, today announced the 23rd August will always be celebrated as “National Space Day”. This marks the historic success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission to the Moon.

India had created a history after its moon mission Chandrayaan-3 landed the spacecraft on the Moon's southern pole. Before that, the milestone of landing any spacecraft on the Moon's surface was achieved by only three countries, the US, Russia, and China. The Chandrayaan-3 lander Vikram made a soft landing on the Lunar surface on August 23.

ISRO says the ChaSTE (Chandra's Surface Thermophysical Experiment) payload onboard Vikram Lander of Chandrayaan-3 has sent measurements of the temperature profile of the lunar topsoil around the pole to understand the thermal behaviour of the moon's surface.

"It has a temperature probe equipped with a controlled penetration mechanism capable of reaching a depth of 10 cm beneath the surface. The probe is fitted with 10 individual temperature sensors."

This is the first such profile for the lunar south pole. "Detailed observations are underway," ISRO adds.

Notably, of the mission objectives of Chandrayaan-3, two have been accomplished including the demonstration of a "safe and soft landing" on the lunar surface and showing rover roving on the moon. "Conducting in-situ scientific experiments is underway. All payloads are performing normally."

On August 27, 2023, as per ISRO, the rover had come across a four-meter diameter crater positioned three meters ahead of its location. "The rover was commanded to retrace the path. It's now safely heading on a new path."