India’s first mission to the Sun: ISRO to launch Aditya-L1 on September 2

After the success of Chandrayaan-3, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch Aditya-L1, the mission to explore the Sun, on September 2 (Saturday).

ISRO to launch its Sun Mission Aditya-L1 today. Photo Courtesy: ISRO X page

ISRO on Monday announced that the Aditya-L1 spacecraft will be launched from the SHAR Range, Sriharikota at 11:50 hrs (IST).

The space organisation will be using its workhorse and reliable launch vehicle PSLV-C57 for the mission.

In a post on X, the Indian space agency earlier said: "PSLV-C57/Aditya-L1 Mission: The launch of Aditya-L1, the first space-based Indian observatory to study the Sun, is scheduled for September 2, 2023, at 11:50 hrs IST from Sriharikota."

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ISRO earlier said Mission Aditya-L1 is not a complete one to study the Sun due to limited mass, power and volume of the spacecraft that carries scientific payloads in space.

"Is Aditya-L1 a complete Mission to study the Sun. The obvious answer is a ‘NO’ which is not only true for Aditya-L1 but in general for any space mission," ISRO said.

The reason is that due to the limited mass, power and volume of the spacecraft that carries the scientific payloads in space, only a limited set of instruments with limited capacity can be sent onboard the spacecraft, the space agency said.