NEW DELHI – India launched its first space mission to explore the sun on Saturday, less than two weeks after a successful unmanned landing near the moon’s south polar region.
The Aditya-L1 probe launched aboard a satellite rocket from the Sriharikota Space Center in southern India to study the Sun from a point about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. The point known as L1 provides a clear view of the Sun.
The spacecraft is equipped with seven devices to study the solar corona, chromosphere, photosphere and solar wind, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said.
After more than an hour, ISRO declared the launch “successfully completed”.
“The vehicle placed the satellite exactly in the intended orbit. India’s first solar observatory has begun its journey to the Sun-Earth point L1 destination,” ISRO wrote on the social network X, formerly Twitter.
The satellite is expected to take 125 days to reach point L1.
India became the first country to land a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole on August 23, a historic journey into unknown territory that scientists say could contain vital reserves of frozen water. After a failed lunar landing attempt in 2019, India became the fourth country to reach this milestone, joining the US, Russia and China.
Jitendra Singh, India’s junior minister for science and technology, praised ISRO officials for their work in the recent launch.
“Congratulations to India. “Congratulations, ISRO,” he said while present at the ISRO control room. This is a sunny moment for India.”
Sun exploration, combined with India’s successful moon landing, would completely change ISRO’s image in the global community, said Manish Purohit, a former scientist at the research organization.
Hundreds of people gathered to watch the launch and cheered as India’s solar mission took off.
Among the audience, Prakash, who gave only his first name, said the launch was “another step” like the country’s recent lunar mission. “This will set the bar high for ISRO,” he said.
“We are privileged to be Indians and witness this kind of developmental activity by the Indian Space Center,” said Sridevi, who also gave only her first name.
Once in place, the satellite would provide reliable warning of particle and radiation attacks from increased solar activity that could devastate Earth’s power grids, said BR Guruprasad, a space scientist, in an article in The Times of India newspaper. Early warning could protect the satellites that form the backbone of the global economic structure, as well as the people who live on space stations.
“These seven devices will study the Sun as a star in all possible positions of the visible, ultraviolet and X-ray spectrum. It’s like we get a black and white image, a color image and a high resolution image of the sun so you don’t miss anything that happens on the sun,” said Mr Purohit.