Aditya L1 spacecraft, India's first space-based mission to study the Sun has commenced collecting scientific data, ISRO said on Monday.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Indian Space Research Organisation said that the sensors of the STEPS (Supra Thermal & Energetic Particle Spectrometer) instrument have begun measuring supra-thermal and energetic ions and electrons at distances greater than 50,000 km from Earth.
This data helps scientists analyze the behaviour of particles surrounding Earth, the space agency said.
An image shared by ISRO displays variations in the energetic particle environment, collected by one of the units.
Aditya-L1 Mission:
September 18, 2023
Aditya-L1 has commenced collecting scientific data.
The sensors of the STEPS instrument have begun measuring supra-thermal and energetic ions and electrons at distances greater than 50,000 km from Earth.
This data helps scientists analyze the behaviour of… pic.twitter.com/kkLXFoy3RiIn a statement, ISRO said that the Supra Thermal & Energetic Particle Spectrometer (STEPS) instrument is a part of the Aditya Solar Wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX) payload.
STEPS comprises six sensors, each observing in different directions and measuring supra-thermal and energetic ions ranging from 20 keV/nucleon to 5 MeV/nucleon, in addition to electrons exceeding 1 MeV.
These measurements are conducted using low and high-energy particle spectrometers.
"The data collected during Earth's orbits helps scientists to analyse the behaviour of particles surrounding the Earth, especially in the presence of the magnetic field of Earth," ISRO said.
STEPS was activated on September 10 at a distance greater than 50,000 km from Earth. This distance is equivalent to more than 8 times the Earth's radius, placing it well beyond Earth's radiation belt region. After completing the necessary instrument health checks, data collection continued until the spacecraft had moved farther than 50,000 km from Earth.
According to ISRO, each unit of STEPS is operating within normal parameters.
A figure displays measurements depicting variations in the energetic particle environment within Earth's magnetosphere, collected by one of the units.
These STEPS measurements will persist during the cruise phase of the Aditya-L1 mission as it progresses toward the Sun-Earth L1 point. They will continue once the spacecraft is positioned in its intended orbit. Data collected around L1 would provide insights into the origin, acceleration, and anisotropy of solar wind and space weather phenomena.
Variation in integrated counts over time recorded by one of the STEPS Sensors on September 10, 2023. Image Source: ISRO
Last week, Aditya L1 underwent the fourth earth-bound manoeuvre successfully.
"The fourth Earth-bound manoeuvre (EBN#4) is performed successfully. ISRO's ground stations at Mauritius, Bengaluru, SDSC-SHAR and Port Blair tracked the satellite during this operation, while a transportable terminal currently stationed in the Fiji islands for Aditya-L1 will support post-burn operations," the space agency said in a post on X on Friday.
Aditya-L1 is the first Indian space-based observatory to study the Sun from a halo orbit around the first Sun-Earth Lagrangian point (L1), which is located roughly 1.5 million km from the Earth.
The first, second and third earth-bound manoeuvre was successfully performed on September 3, 5 and 10 respectively.
The manoeuvres are being performed during the spacecraft's 16-day journey around the Earth during which the spacecraft will gain the necessary velocity for its further journey to L1.
With the completion of four earth-bound orbital manoeuvres, Aditya-L1 will next undergo a Trans-Lagrangian1 insertion manoeuvre, marking the beginning of its nearly 110-day trajectory to the destination around the L1 Lagrange point.
ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C57) on September 2 successfully launched the Aditya-L1 spacecraft from the Second Launch Pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota.
(With PTI inputs)
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