India Launched it’s First Solar Mission to Space

After the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the south pole of the moon just two weeks ago, India is looking at continuing its momentum in the on-going global space race. This weekend, India launched its first mission to study the sun.

The Aditya-L1 spacecraft was launched on Saturday from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, Andra Pradesh. The spacecraft will study the sun from around 930,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth, known as the L1 point, which provides a steady view of the sun. According to the Indian Space Research Organization, they are looking at the sun’s corona, wind, photosphere, and chromosphere, as well as magnetic fields.

The goal of this launch is to gain a better understanding of space weather. Space storms, or magnetic waves that move through the solar system, can affect Earth as it comes closer to the atmosphere. This can lead to interruptions in satellites, radio, and power grids across the world.

With NASA’s Parker Solar Probe becoming the first spacecraft to touch the sun in 2021, the Aditya-L1 is looking to add to the world’s information on solar understandings. With India becoming only the fourth country in the world to land a vehicle on the moon, this new mission is working at establishing India as a space superpower.