The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) announced Monday that it will launch its first space mission to study the Sun next Saturday, with the aim of placing a satellite in solar orbit, just over a week after successfully landing on the moon. a probe at the south pole of the Moon.
“The launch of Aditya-L1, India’s first space-based observatory to study the Sun, is scheduled for 2 September 2023 at 11:50 a.m. local time (6:20 GMT),” the ISRO said in a statement. the social network X, formerly known as Twitter.
The launch will take place at the center of the Indian space agency in Sriharikota, in the south of the Asian country.
Aditya-L1’s main objectives are to study the dynamics of the highest layers of the solar atmosphere and the formation of solar winds, among others, placing a probe in orbit 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.
“This will provide a further advantage in observing solar activities and their effect on space weather in real time,” the ISRO said.
The new space mission comes less than a week after the historic landing of a probe on the unexplored south pole of the Moon, in the framework of the Chandrayaan-3 mission of the ISRO, thus making India the first nation to reach the most southern satellite.
