Aditya-L1 completes Trans-Lagrangian 1 Insertion, sends data from 50,000 km

India's first solar space observatory mission has successfully completed the Trans-Lagrangian Point 1 Insertion manoeuvre. The spacecraft has started sending scientific information

India's first-ever space-based solar mission, Aditya L1 spacecraft, left earth's orbit after being launched into space on September 2, 2023. Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) shared the information of Aditya-L1 completing Trans-Lagrangian 1 Insertion (TLI) flawlessly.

The Trans-Lagrangian Point 1 Insertion is the beginning of the 110-day journey of the Aditya L1 spacecraft to its destination of L1 Lagrange Point. The L1 Lagrange point is one of the points between earth and the sun where the gravitational forces of the two bodies balance each other.

Isro shared a post on X

Indian space agency shared a post of X (formerly Twitter) informing that Aditya L1 had successfully performed the Trans-Lagrangian Point 1 Insertion (TL1I) manoeuvre. 

The tweet reads, "Aditya-L1 Mission: Off to sun-earth L1 point! The Trans-Lagrangean Point 1 Insertion (TL1I) maneuvre is performed successfully. The spacecraft is now on a trajectory that will take it to the sun-earth L1 point. It will be injected into an orbit around L1 through a maneuver after about 110 days. This is the fifth consecutive time ISRO has successfully transferred an object on a trajectory toward another celestial body or location in space."

India is launching a spacecraft for the first time to observe the sun from a halo point between the sun and the earth, i.e., Lagrangian point (L1). This point is located around 1.5 million away from earth, which is just one per cent of the distance between earth and the sun.

India's Aditya L1 is not designed to go very close to the sun and Isro aims to study the latter’s outer atmosphere.

Adiya L1 underwent four earth-bound manoeuvres on September 3, 5, 10, and 15, during which the spacecraft gained the necessary momentum for its further journey to L1.

According to Isro, the Aditya L1 spacecraft is expected to reach its destination L1 point after around 127 days.

Aditya L1 starts sending information

With one active instrument, Aditya L1 has started sending scientific data.

Isro said on Monday that the spacecraft's STEPS instrument sensors have started measuring suprathermal and energetic icons and electrons at a distance greater than 50,000 km from the earth. This data will help scientists to analyse the behaviour of particles surrounding earth.

STEPS stands for Supra Thermal & Energetic Particle Spectrometer instrument, a part of the Aditya Solar Wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX) payload.

It has six sensors observing different directions and measuring supra-thermal and energetic ions. Isro said, “These measurements are conducted using low and high-energy particle spectrometers. The data collected during earth’s orbits helps scientists to analyse the behaviour of particles surrounding the earth, especially in the presence of the magnetic field of earth.” 

The Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) has developed the STEPS with Isro Space Application Centre support.