India’s First Solar Mission
Visible Line Emission Coronagraph (VLEC), the primary payload on board Aditya-L1, was handed over to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA).
Aditya-L1 Mission
Launch Vehicle
Aditya L1 will be launched using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) with 7 payloads (instruments) on board.
The 7 Payloads Include:
- VELC
- Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT)
- Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS)
- Aditya Solar wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX)
- High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer (HEL1OS)
- Plasma Analyser Package for Aditya (PAPA)
- Advanced Tri-axial High Resolution Digital Magnetometers
Objective
Aditya L1 will study the Sun’s corona, Sun's photosphere, chromosphere, solar emissions, solar winds and flares, and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), and will carry out round-the-clock imaging of the Sun.
The mission will be launched by ISRO to the L1 orbit which is about 1.5 million km from the Earth. The orbit allows Aditya-L1 to look at the Sun continuously.
What is L1?
L1 refers to Lagrangian/Lagrange Point 1, one of 5 points in the orbital plane of the Earth-Sun system.
Lagrange Points are positions in space where the gravitational forces of a two-body system like the Sun and Earth produce enhanced regions of attraction and repulsion.
These can be used by spacecraft to reduce fuel consumption needed to remain in position.
A Satellite placed in the halo orbit around the L1 has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation/ eclipses.
The L1 point is home to the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Satellite (SOHO), an international collaboration project of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA).
Features and Significance of VELC Payload
Features
VELC will be the main payload among seven designed to study various aspects of the sun and is one of the most precise instruments made in India.
It was conceptualised and designed in 15 years which will help in solving mysteries related to solar astrophysics.
Significance
It will help in studying the temperature, velocity and density of the corona, understand the processes that result in heating of the corona and acceleration of the solar wind, aid studies on drivers of space weather, measure the magnetic field of corona and study the development and origin of coronal mass ejection.
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