ISRO To Launch India's First Mission To The Sun In June-July: All You Need To Know

India is orchestrating a mission to study the Sun! The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is reportedly targeting a June-July launch for the Aditya L1 mission that will study the Sun, ISRO's Chairman and Secretary, Department of Space, S. Somanath said on Thursday.

Somanath was speaking at an event in Hosakote where the formal handing over of Visible Line Emission Coronagraph (VELC), the mission's primary payload developed by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA).

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"Currently, we are getting the (Aditya L1) satellite ready. The payload will reach the U R Rao Satellite Centre and will be integrated with the satellite. It will go through extensive testing and evaluation and will be launched on the PSLV, by June-July," Somanath said.

What will the mission intend to achieve?

The satellite will have seven payloads and will be launched to the L1 orbit - the first Lagrangian point of the Sun-Earth system. At such points, objects sent to space tend to stay put and also consume less fuel to stay in position, according to NASA.

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L1 orbit is situated about 1.5 million kilometres from Earth and the satellite will have a continuous view of the Sun.?The Visible Line Emission Coronagraph (VELC) was developed for the mission at the IIA's Centre for Research and Education in Science and Technology campus in Hosakote. It's been in the works for about 15 years and weighs 90 kg.

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VELC will enable continuous observations of the Sun's atmosphere, the Corona. Owing to the bright light from Sun's surface, observation of the Sun's lower corona is not easy. To make this easier, VELC comes with an "internal occulter" that separates light, removes it, and then sends the leftover light for processing.

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The mission will attempt to understand why the Sun's atmosphere is very hot while its surface isn't. VELC will study what processes lead to the corona's heating.

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What do you think about ISRO's first mission aimed at the Sun? Let us know in the comments below.?For more in the world of?technology?and?science, keep reading?Indiatimes.com.