India’s first solar mission, Aditya-L1, has captured some amazing images of the Earth and the Moon from its orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrange point 1 (L1), which is 1.5 million km away from the Earth. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) shared the images on its official website and social media platforms on Thursday.
A selfie and a view of the home planet
The images were taken by the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC), one of the seven scientific instruments on board the Aditya-L1 spacecraft. The VELC is designed to study the solar corona, the outermost layer of the Sun that emits a faint white light. The VELC also has a camera that can take images of the spacecraft itself and its surroundings.
The first image, taken on September 6, 2023, shows a “selfie” of the Aditya-L1 spacecraft with its solar panels and antenna clearly visible. The second image, taken on September 7, 2023, shows a spectacular view of the Earth and the Moon from a distance of about 1.4 million km. The image reveals the details of the continents, oceans, clouds and craters on both the celestial bodies.
A milestone for India’s space exploration
The Aditya-L1 mission was launched on September 2, 2023, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota using a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C57). It took about four months for the spacecraft to reach its final destination, where it will orbit the Sun at the same rate as the Earth. This will allow it to observe the Sun continuously without any interruption.
The mission aims to study various aspects of the Sun, such as its magnetic field, solar wind, solar flares and coronal mass ejections. These phenomena affect the space weather and have implications for communication, navigation and power systems on Earth. The mission will also help in understanding the origin and evolution of the solar system.
The Aditya-L1 mission is India’s first dedicated mission to study the Sun and also its first mission to reach the L1 point. It is a major achievement for ISRO and a proud moment for India, as it joins a select group of countries that have sent spacecraft to this strategic location in space.
