Aditya-L1: India's Sun mission reaches final destination

India's inaugural solar observation mission, Aditya-L1, has successfully reached its final destination. Launched on September 2, the spacecraft has been journeying towards the Sun for a period of four months. The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) initiated the launch shortly after India made history by becoming the first nation to land near the Moon's south pole.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India lauded the mission as a 'landmark' and an 'extraordinary feat'. He expressed his sentiments on X, formerly known as Twitter, stating that the mission is a testament to the relentless dedication of Indian scientists in realizing complex and intricate space missions. The mission is named after Surya, the Hindu deity of the Sun, also known as Aditya. The 'L1' in the mission's name refers to Lagrange point 1, the precise location between the Sun and Earth where the spacecraft has now arrived.

The European Space Agency explains that a Lagrange point is a location where the gravitational forces of two large bodies, such as the Sun and the Earth, neutralize each other, enabling a spacecraft to maintain a stationary position. L1 is situated 1. 5 million km (932,000 miles) from the Earth, equivalent to 1% of the Earth-Sun distance. The final maneuver to position Aditya in L1's orbit was executed on Saturday at approximately 16:00 India time (10:30 GMT), as reported by the Times of India.