ISRO head S Somnath revealed that the Aditya-L1 solar mission is actively gathering crucial data about the Sun. Speaking to the press after receiving a special award from jewellery major PC Chandra Group, Somnath highlighted the mission’s dedication to collecting data before, during, and after solar eclipses. He asserted the spacecraft’s various instruments are operating seamlessly, providing valuable insights into multiple aspects of solar activity.
“We are looking into the Sun in a continuous manner – UV magnetic charges observation, corona graph observation, X-ray observation and other things,” he said.
Bharat’s first solar mission craft, the Aditya-L1 spacecraft was launched on September 2, 2023.
“As we are keeping this satellite for five years, the observation will be analysed as a long-term measure. It is not like your instant news that something has been reported about the sun today, something else will happen tomorrow, things will happen every day,” he explained.
All observations will happen now but the results will be known later, he said.
“Eclipse happens as the Sun is blocked by the moon. It is not like that anything happens within the sun during an eclipse. But obviously, our mission is also collecting data about the Sun before, during and after an eclipse, Somnath said, while answering a question on whether the mission will throw light on the solar eclipse.
Speaking about collaborations with other space agencies, he said ISRO is building a joint satellite NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar).
