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The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), on September 2, 2023, successfully launched its first solar mission ‘Aditya-L1’ to study the Sun. On September 30, 2023, Aditya-L1 successfully escaped from Earth’s sphere of influence and is currently on track to settle about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth into a halo orbit around the L1 Earth-Sun Lagrange point from where it will have an unobstructed view of the Sun.
Aditya-L1 Mission: 👀Watcher!
Aditya-L1, destined for the Sun-Earth point L1, takes selfies and pictures of the Earth and the Moon.#AdityaL1 pic.twitter.com/54KxrfYSwy
— ISRO (@isro)
September 7, 2023
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is a spacecraft that launched on August 12, 2018 to study the Sun up close and personal. It is the first spacecraft to fly through the Sun’s corona, the Sun’s outer atmosphere. The probe is named after Eugene Parker, a solar physicist who predicted the existence of the solar wind in the 1950s.
In this article, we will look at how ISRO’s Aditya-L1 differs from NASA’s Parker Solar Probe.
ISRO’s Aditya-L1 vs NASA’s Parker Solar Probe
Aditya L1 is a solar mission of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). It is the first Indian mission dedicated to the study of the Sun. The mission, which is expected to operate for at least five years, will be placed in a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth system’s Lagrange point 1 (L1) (approximately 1.5 million km from Earth).
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is a solar mission of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It is also the fastest spacecraft ever built, traveling at speeds of up to 430,000 miles per hour (700,000 kilometers per hour). NASA’s Parker Solar Probe became the fastest man-made object in history on September 27, 2023, when it reached a speed of 394,736 miles per hour (635,291 kilometers per hour). That’s almost twice as fast as a lightning strike and 200 times faster than a rifle bullet.
On its eighth attempt in April 2021, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe flew through the corona, passing structures called coronal streamers.
Where will Aditya-L1 and Parker Solar Probe be located?
Aditya L1 will be placed in a large halo orbit around the Sun-Earth L1 Lagrange point. It is a point in space that is about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. Point L1 is a stable location where the gravitational forces of the Sun and Earth balance each other. Aditya-l1’s distance from the Sun will be about 148.5 million kilometers (925,000 miles).
Also Read: What is Aditya L1? Everything you need to know about India’s first solar mission
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will fly more than seven times closer to the Sun than any spacecraft to date. Over the course of seven years, the spacecraft will complete 24 orbits around the Sun, coming within about 3.9 million miles (6.2 million kilometers) of the Sun at its closest approach.
What layers of the Sun will Aditya-L1 and Parker Solar Probe study?
The payload (instruments) of the Aditya-L1 spacecraft will study the photosphere, chromosphere and outermost layers of the Sun (the corona). The spacecraft will provide the most important information to understand the problems of coronal heating, coronal mass ejection, preflare and flare activity and their characteristics, space weather dynamics, particle and field propagation, etc.
Also Read: Which layer of the Sun will Aditya L1 study?
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is the first spacecraft to fly into the Sun’s corona, its outermost atmosphere. The spacecraft will study magnetic fields, plasma and energy particles and record the solar wind. It collects measurements and images to help us better understand the origin and evolution of the solar wind, the stream of charged particles that escape from the Sun into space.
What instruments are carried by both solar missions to study the Sun?
Aditya-L1 carries the following seven instruments:
(i) Visible emission coronagraph (VELC) to study the solar corona and coronal mass ejection dynamics.
(ii) Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) for near ultraviolet (UV) imaging of the solar photosphere and chromosphere. It also measures variations in solar radiation near UV rays.
(iii) The Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS) to study X-ray flares from the Sun in a wide range of X-ray energies.
(iv) On-orbit L1 High Energy X-ray Spectrometer (HEL1OS) to study X-ray flares from the Sun in a wide range of X-ray energies.
(vi vi) Aditya Solar Wind Particle EXperiment (ASPEX) and Aditya Plasma Analyzer Package (PAPA) to study the solar wind and energetic ions and their energy distribution.
(vii) Advanced high-resolution three-axis digital magnetometers to measure interplanetary magnetic fields at L1.
Parker Solar Probe carries a total of four instruments:
(i) The Fields experiment (FIELDS) measures electric and magnetic fields in the solar corona and solar wind.
(ii) The Integrated Solar Science Survey (ISʘIS) measures plasma and dust in the solar corona and solar wind.
(iii) Wide Field Imager for Solar Probe (WISPR) measures the composition and energy of particles in the solar wind.
(iv) Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons (SWEAP) will capture images of the solar corona and solar wind.
Also Read: Explained: What is a solar flare?
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: newstars.edu.vn