India sets September launch date for mission to study the sun
The announcement, in a post on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, comes days after India became the first country to land a spacecraft on the unexplored south pole of the moon
India's first space-based observatory to study the sun will be launched on 2 September, the country's space agency said on Monday (28 August).
The announcement, in a post on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, comes days after India became the first country to land a spacecraft on the unexplored south pole of the moon.
The Aditya-L1, India's first space-based solar probe, aims to study solar winds, which can cause disturbance on earth and are commonly seen as "auroras".
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The craft, named after the Hindi word for the sun, will be launched from the country's main spaceport in Sriharikota using India's heavy-duty launch vehicle, the PSLV, which will travel about 1.5 million km (932,000 miles), the agency said.
"The total travel time from launch to L-1 (Langrange point) would take about four months for Aditya-L1," the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a post on X.
The government sanctioned the equivalent of about $46 million for the mission in 2019.
ISRO has not given an official update on costs and did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment.
India has achieved a reputation for successful space launches at cut-throat costs. It's latest moon mission had a budget of about $75 million- less than that of Hollywood space thriller "Gravity".c
