The Aditya L1 spacecraft is set to perform a complex insertion into the halo orbit around Lagrange Point 1 (L1), according to Indian media reports on Monday. This marks the mission's final phase.
The spacecraft has undergone four manoeuvres before being injected into a transfer orbit towards L1.
The last phase of any space is critical and most important. That said, the Aditya L1 has now come to the final stage of reaching its mission. Experts emphasise that this stage necessitates a meticulous process that involves careful planning to ensure that the spacecraft maintains its trajectory and velocity, thus enabling a successful entry into the halo orbit.
Being a point of gravitational equilibrium between the Earth and the Sun, Lagrange Point 1 is located 15 lakh kilometres away from our planet.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the spacecraft on 6 September 2023, and the mission is all set to reach its destination on 6 January 2024.
Once the device is installed at L1, it will remain there for five years. The spacecraft is equipped seven payloads, four of which will directly face the Sun, two will study the solar wind, and the remaining one is a magnetometer, which will measure magnetic fields at the spacecraft's position in L1.
Among the four instruments facing the Sun, two of them are X-ray spectrometers designed to study the properties of solar flares. The third instrument is a coronagraph, intended to capture images of the Sun and detect the formation of flares. The fourth instrument will be used to measure solar radiation.