Meet Aditya L1 ’s Principal Scientist: Dr. Sankarasubramanian K.

On September 2, 2023, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch ADITYA-L1, a spacecraft designed to study the solar atmosphere. After the successful soft-landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the moon, ISRO has begun its journey to launch more projects into space to study the solar system’s dynamics and atmosphere.

In the world of development, space organizations are making considerable advancements. Aditya L1 vs. Parker Solar Probe are missions by ISRO and NASA, respectively. While Aditya L1 is meant to study solar activities and their effect on space weather in real-time, Parker Solar Probe, on the other hand, will be the first-ever mission to “touch” the Sun.

About ISRO’s Aditya-L1 Mission

• Aditya-L1 is set to be India’s first dedicated mission to study the Sun.
• The Aditya L1 launch vehicle is PSLV-X, which will carry the spacecraft in Space.
• Named after the Sanskrit word for “sun,” the mission’s primary objective is to observe the Sun’s outermost layer, the corona, which is significantly hotter than its surface.
• Scientists have long been puzzled by the corona’s inexplicably high temperatures, and Aditya-L1’s instruments are designed to help unravel this enigma.
• The spacecraft will be positioned in a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth system’s Lagrange point 1 (L1), approximately 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.
• The Lagrange point L1lies between the Sun-Earth line.
• A satellite in a halo orbit around the L1 point has the significant benefit of continuously viewing the Sun without occultation/eclipses.
• This will give us a better chance of seeing solar activity and its impact on space weather in real-time.
• Sankarasubramanian K. is the ISRO scientist named the Aditya-L1 mission’s Principal Scientist.

About Dr. Sankarasubramanian K: Principal Scientist behind Aditya-L1

• Sankarasubramanian, ISRO’s Solar Mission Head, is the Senior Solar Scientist at U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), Bengaluru.
• Obtained Ph.D. in Physics from Bangalore University through the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru.
• Research areas of interest are Solar Magnetic, Optics, and Instrumentation.
• Major contributions include AstroSat, Chandrayaan-1, and Chandrayaan-2 missions.
• Heading the Space Astronomy Group (SAG) of URSC. SAG is involved in developing ISRO’s solar mission payloads for Aditya-L1.
• Head and Principal Investigator for one of the X-ray payloads on board Aditya-L1.

Aditya L1 Mission Objectives

• Research into the dynamics of the Sun’s upper atmosphere (chromosphere and corona).
• Investigation of chromospheric and coronal heating, physics of partially ionized plasma, coronal mass ejections, and flares
• Study particle dynamics from the Sun by observing the in-situ particle and plasma environment.
• Solar corona physics and heating mechanism.
• Coronal and coronal loop plasma diagnostics: temperature, velocity, and density.
• The evolution, behaviour, and origin of CMEs.
• Determine the sequence of processes that occur at different levels (chromosphere, base, and extended corona) that lead to solar eruptive events.
• Topology of magnetic fields and magnetic field measurements in the solar corona.
• Space weather drivers (origin, composition, and solar wind dynamics).

Scheduled for launch on September 2, 2023, this mission represents a significant leap forward for India’s space exploration endeavors. It underscores ISRO’s commitment to advancing our understanding of the cosmos while contributing to global scientific knowledge. As Aditya-L1 ventures closer to the Sun than any previous Indian mission, it promises to unveil new insights into the fundamental processes that govern our solar system and impact life on Earth.

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