Aditya-L1 was launched on Isro’s workhorse, PSLV-C57, on September 2 from the Sriharikota spaceport.
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Data collected around Sun-Earth Lagrangian Point – L1 would provide insights into the origin, acceleration and anisotropy of solar wind and space weather phenomena.
Aditya-L1 is the second spacecraft that the ISRO could send outside the sphere of influence of the Earth. The first one was the Mars Orbiter Mission.
It carries seven payloads. While four payloads will observe light from the Sun, three payloads will measure in-situ (in original position) parameters of the plasma and magnetic fields.
Aditya-L1 will be placed in a halo orbit around L1 in the direction of the Sun. It would revolve around the Sun with the same relative position and hence can see the Sun continuously.
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ASPEX comprises two cutting-edge instruments – the Solar wind Ion Spectrometer (SWIS) and STEPS (SupraThermal and Energetic Particle Spectrometer). The STEPS instrument was operational on September 10 this year, while the SWIS instrument was activated on November 2, last month, and has exhibited optimal performance, ISRO said.
SWIS, utilising two sensor units with a 360° field of view each, operates in planes perpendicular to one another.
“The instrument has successfully measured solar wind ions, primarily protons and alpha particles,” a statement from ISRO said.
A sample energy histogram acquired from one of the sensors over two days in November last month illustrates variations in proton (H+) and alpha particle (doubly ionized helium, He2+) counts, the space agency said.
These variations were recorded with nominal integration time, providing a comprehensive snapshot of solar wind behaviour.
The directional capabilities of SWIS enable precise measurements of solar wind protons and alphas, contributing significantly to addressing longstanding questions about solar wind properties, underlying processes, and their impact on Earth.
The change in the proton and alpha particle number ratio, as observed by SWIS, holds the potential to provide indirect information about the arrival of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) at the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point L1.
Enhanced alpha-to-proton ratio is often regarded as one of the sensitive markers of the passage of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) at the L1 and hence considered crucial for space weather studies.
As researchers delve deeper into the collected data, the international scientific community eagerly awaits the knowledge that Aditya-L1’s ASPEX is set to unveil about the solar wind and its implications for our planet, the space agency said.
