13 August 2024 : Daily Answer Writing
Q1) Aditya L1 mission is an important milestone as India’s first space based solar observatory. Enlist the major scientific objectives and the challenges of the mission.
(150 Words/10 marks)
ANS
Aditya-L1 is India’s first space based solar observatory. It is aimed at studying the Sun from an orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrangian point 1 (L1), which is about 1.5 million kilometres from the Earth.
There are total of seven payloads on-board with four of them conduct remote sensing of the Sun and three of them will perform in-situ observation at L1.
The major scientific objectives of Aditya-L1 mission are as follows:
- Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) and Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) will study the solar upper atmospheric dynamics by studying photosphere, chromosphere and corona.
- Aditya Solar wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX) will observe the dynamics and origin of solar winds, Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and solar flares.
- Advanced Tri-axial High Resolution Digital Magnetometers will help in studying the magnetic field topology and magnetic field measurements in the solar corona.
- Plasma Analyser Package for Aditya (PAPA) will aid in observing the in-situ particle and plasma environment of L1. It will provide data for the study of particle dynamics from the Sun.
- The mission provides diagnostics (like Temperature, velocity and density) of the coronal and coronal loops plasma and to analyse the physics behind the partially ionized plasma.
- Aditya L1 will also serve as a space weather station. It will monitor and collect data on space weather conditions near earth.
The challenges associated with the mission are as follows:
- Positioning at Lagrange point: The trajectory from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to L1 is challenging with complex orbital manoeuvres, which requires multiple ignition and switching off of the engine.
- Temperature maintenance: Aditya L1 will be placed in a high temperature environment but maintenance of low temperature inside the satellite is a challenging task.
- Solar disruptive events: Although the mission intends to study Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) solar flares and magnetic storms, there is always a threat of disruption of components of Aditya L1 from them.
- Shorter lifecycle: The mission’s lifecycle is 5yrs and it is very short to study important events like solar cycles, which is an 11-year cycle. The solar cycle, however, has a significant impact on earth.
- Various phenomena of the sun are multi-directional in nature. Therefore, it will not be possible to study them with Aditya-L1 alone. E.g., the mission does not study the Polar region of the sun.
Aditya L1 will serve two important purposes viz, by monitoring and predicting space weather it will safeguard our space-based infrastructure in the short run. Secondly, it will enhance our understanding of the sun and associated phenomena and aid in larger understanding of the universe.
