India’s sun-observing satellite, Aditya-L1, has surpassed a significant milestone on its path beyond Earth’s gravitational hold, announced the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). This achievement comes after the recent setback of its Moon rover’s inactivity.
The Aditya-L1 mission, which embarked on its voyage to the core of the solar system on September 2, is equipped to study the Sun’s outer layers.
ISRO confirmed in a statement, “The spacecraft has moved beyond the Earth’s gravitational sphere.”
Named after the Hindu sun god, Aditya has covered 920,000 kilometres, slightly more than halfway of its total journey. At this juncture, the gravitational pull from both the Earth and the Sun nullify each other, enabling the spacecraft to maintain a consistent halo orbit around the Sun.
This marks the second occasion where ISRO has managed to dispatch a spacecraft beyond Earth’s gravitational reach, the first being the Mars Orbiter Mission.
Previously in August, India achieved the distinction of being the first nation to touch down near the largely untouched lunar south pole, making it the fourth country ever to make a lunar landing.
Their rover, Pragyan, examined its surrounding terrain but had to be shut down due to the prolonged lunar night. Despite hopes of reigniting the solar-powered rover post-lunar daylight, there has been no communication yet.
However, ISRO’s chief S. Somanath remains optimistic, stating, “Even if the rover remains inactive, it has fulfilled its purpose.”
Back in 2014, India made history as the first Asian country to orbit Mars. Additionally, plans are in motion for a crewed mission to Earth’s orbit in the forthcoming year.
While both the US and the European Space Agency have a history of dispatching multiple missions to the solar system’s heart, starting with NASA’s Pioneer initiative in the 1960s, Japan and China have also initiated their own solar observational projects in Earth’s orbit.
Nevertheless, a successful completion of ISRO’s current mission would mark it as the premier Asian venture to orbit the Sun.
