Aditya-L1: Successful trajectory correction maneuver

New Delhi: Aditya-L1 spacecraft which is carrying out India’s first solar mission has performed a trajectory correction manoeuvre (TCM), for about 16 seconds, ISRO said on Sunday, adding it happened on October 6, 2023.

ISRO in its X timeline write that the manoeuvre was needed to correct the trajectory evaluated after tracking the Trans-Lagrangean Point 1 Insertion (TL1I) manoeuvre performed on September 19.

“TCM ensures that the spacecraft is on its intended path towards the Halo orbit insertion around L1 (its destination). As Aditya-L1 continues to move ahead, the magnetometer will be turned on again within a few days,” ISRO wrote on X.

In its latest, India’s space agency also maintained the spacecraft is healthy and on its way to its destination.

So far in its journey, the spacecraft has undergone four earth-bound manoeuvres and a Trans-Lagrangean Point 1 Insertion (TL1I) manoeuvres, all successfully. In the process, the spacecraft successfully escaped the sphere of Earth’s influence.

Aditya-L1 has also commenced collecting scientific data. The sensors of the STEPS (Supra Thermal and Energetic Particle Spectrometer) instrument have begun measuring supra-thermal and energetic ions and electrons at distances greater than 50,000 km from Earth.

This data would help scientists analyze the behaviour of particles surrounding Earth. The figure below displays variations in the energetic particle environment, collected by one of the units.

After the successful soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 near the South pole of the moon, the ISRO launched the country’s maiden solar mission — Aditya-L1 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on September 2.

It carried seven different payloads to have a detailed study of the sun, four of which will observe the light from the sun and the other three will measure in-situ parameters of the plasma and magnetic fields.

Aditya-L1 will be placed in a halo orbit around Lagrangian Point 1 (or L1), which is 1.5 million km away from the Earth in the direction of the sun. It is expected to cover the distance in four months’ time.Aditya-L1 will stay approximately 1.5 million km away from Earth, directed towards the Sun, which is about 1 per cent of the Earth-Sun distance. The Sun is a giant sphere of gas and Aditya-L1 would study the outer atmosphere of the Sun.

ISRO had said Aditya-L1 will neither land on the sun nor approach the sun any closer.

This strategic location will enable Aditya-L1 to continuously observe the sun without being hindered by eclipses or occultation, allowing scientists to study solar activities and their impact on space weather in real time. Also, the spacecraft’s data will help identify the sequence of processes that lead to solar eruptive events and contribute to a deeper understanding of space weather drivers.