The goal is to study the sun’s outer layers, to better understand its physics and dynamics and to improve understanding of space weather.
Weeks after successfully landing a rover on the moon, India on Saturday launched its first solar mission aimed at studying the outer layers of the sun.
Aditya L1, as the mission is called, weighs about 3,300 pounds and will travel a distance of about 930,000 miles over four months. It is then to continue orbiting for several years, all the while sending data back to Earth.
The spacecraft is designed to study the sun’s outer layers, its chromosphere and corona, to better understand the physics and dynamics of our local star.
A large crowd, including children in school uniforms, watched the rocket’s launch in the noon heat from the viewing gallery of the Satish Dhawan Space Center, the launch facility in India’s southern state of Andhra Pradesh. Many of them were carrying colorful umbrellas to protect from the sun.
Last month, India became the fourth country to land on the moon, and the first to do so on its southern polar region, with its Chandrayaan 3 spacecraft.
