ISRO chief S Somanath shares about Aditya-L1 legacy, says 'This is for whole world, not for India alone'

Following the successful placement of the Aditya-L1 spacecraft into its designated orbit, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chief S. Somanath emphasised that this significant mission had global implications, extending beyond India.

"The solar mission, Aditya-L1 is for the whole of the world, not for India alone, for all of us to understand and make use of its scientific importance," Somanath said while speaking to ANI on Saturday.

According to the ISRO chief, scientists had to make many changes so that the space satellite could be placed precisely.

"Today's event was only placing the Aditya-L1 in the precise Halo orbit. So it was moving towards a high orbit, but we had to do a little bit of corrections to put it in the right place. So something like 31 metres per second velocity had to be given cumulatively to the satellite to keep it at the right orientation," Somanath said.

On the halo orbit, Somanath said, "The halo orbit is an orbit which moves around L1 point with a size of 6 lakh kilometres in one dimension and one lakh kilometres in another dimension. So it is like an egg. We had to place it in the new orbit. It has to be precisely put."

According to the ISRO chief, if the satellite is not precisely put, it may escape from the point.

"If we do not the correction today it will escape from this point. We will not allow it to escape. There are some contingencies. But mathematically it can escape. So that has been very precisely done. Today we achieved exact placement based on our measurement and very correct prediction of velocity requirement...So right now, in our calculation, it is at the right place," Somnath said.

The ISRO chairman, however, warned that his team will be monitoring it over the next few hours to look for drifts. He stated that if it has shifted somewhat from its original position, repairs may be required.

"But we are going to monitor it for the next few hours to see whether it is at the right place. Then if it is slightly drifted, we may have to do a little bit of correction. We don't expect that to happen...," Somnath said.

"The thrusters be fired in such a way that the spacecraft takes a stable orbit at the Lagrangian point from which the observation of the sun can be made uninterrupted, continuously for next few years. The journey commenced in September and while it is going towards the sun, most of the instruments have been calibrated, and they have sent some x-ray images as well as other particle counts as well. So that shows the spacecraft is in healthy condition. And once it is in a stable orbit, it will be able to carry out the indented observation of the solar corona phenomena as well as the photosphere and the various activities, especially the solar winds and related radiation...," former ISRO Chief Dr G Madhavan Nair said.

Meanwhile, former ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair stated that the spacecraft should take a stable orbit near the Lagrangian point so that the sun may be viewed continuously for the next few years.

"The thrusters be fired in such a way that the spacecraft takes a stable orbit at the Lagrangian point from which the observation of the sun can be made uninterrupted, continuously for next few years," Madhavan Nair said, speaking to ANI in Thiruvananthapuram.

Madhavan Nair, the former ISRO chief, highlighted that during its journey, Aditya-L1 successfully calibrated most of its instruments, showcasing its robust health. Nair mentioned that the spacecraft, en route to the sun since September, has transmitted X-ray images and particle count data. Once in a stable orbit, Aditya-L1 is poised to observe solar phenomena, including the solar corona and photosphere.

"And once it is in a stable orbit, it will be able to carry out the indented observation of the solar corona phenomena as well as the photosphere and the various activities, especially the solar winds and related radiation...," the former ISRO chief said.

ISRO launched the Aditya-L1 spacecraft, the first dedicated solar mission, into its final target orbit on Saturday, marking a key scientific milestone.

Also Read: ISRO's Aditya-L1 reaches Lagrange Point 1 to study the Sun; PM Modi lauds 'extraordinary feat'