ISRO’s solar mission launch: All you need to know about trajectory of Aditya L1 to reach Lagrange Point 1

The journey of Aditya L1 from the Earth to Lagrange Point 1 will be a complex path and will involve several phases to reach its destination. As ISRO explains, the path will not be straight and will take different turns and twists to reach. After being launched from the Earth, Aditya L1 will be placed in a low-Earth orbit in a circular motion. This stage of the journey is known as the Earth-centered orbit transfer.

Eventually, the orbit will be made more elliptical with the progress of the journey and later the spacecraft will be launched towards the Lagrange point 1 by using onboard propulsion. With the progression of the elliptical movement, the spacecraft will exit the Earth’s gravitational pull range, which is known as the Sphere of Influence (SOI). Once it exits from the SOI, the cruise phase of the spacecraft will begin and it will be entering into the large halo orbit around the L1. The total time duration of Aditya L1 from the launch to reach its destination will take about four months.

The spacecraft will be carrying seven payloads that will observe the photosphere, chromosphere and the outermost layers of the Sun with the help of electromagnetic and magnetic field detectors. Besides, out of the seven, four payloads would be able to have a clear view of the Sun and the remaining three payloads carried out in-situ will be studying the particles and fields at the L1.

The most important data will be received from the suits of Aditya L1 payloads as they are expected to provide information on understanding the problem of coronal heating, coronal mass ejection, dynamics of space weather, propagation of particles and fields, among others, through the study.