ISRO should help everyone enjoy the fruits of its new science missions

Subject: Science and Tech

Section: Space technology

Context:

On January 6 evening, a stream of commands transmitted by scientists and engineers of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) were translated by a computer onboard the Aditya-L1 spacecraft into manoeuvres that guided it into orbit around an imaginary point in space.
Thus, Aditya-L1 reached its destination, around the L1 Lagrange point, from where it will have an unfettered view of the sun for its expected lifetime of five years.

About ISRO

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is the space agency of the Government of India, established in 1969. With its headquarters in Bengaluru, Karnataka, ISRO has emerged as a leading player in space exploration and satellite technology.
The organization is known for its cost-effective and innovative approach to space missions.
ISRO has achieved numerous milestones, including the launch of its first satellite, Aryabhata, in 1975.
It gained global recognition with the successful launch of the Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) in 2013, making India the first Asian nation to reach Martian orbit and the first nation in the world to do so on its maiden attempt.
The organization has a diverse portfolio, encompassing satellite communication, Earth observation, navigation, scientific research, and interplanetary exploration. ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) have been instrumental in deploying satellites for various purposes.

Aditya-L1

Aditya-L1 is an observatory-class solar mission that will study the sun with seven instruments: VELC, a coronagraph to study the uppermost layer of the sun’s atmosphere; SUIT, an ultraviolet imaging telescope; SoLEXS and HEL1OS, to study solar flares and coronal mass ejections; ASPEX and PAPA, to study the solar wind and plasma; and a set of digital magnetometers to measure properties of the magnetic field around the spacecraft.
ISRO picked the L1 Lagrange point — 1.5 million km from the earth in the earth-sun direction and one of five Lagrange points in the earth-sun system — because the gravitational influences of the two bodies interact such that a smaller body here will not experience a net tug towards either.
So, Aditya-L1 can stay at L1 while expending little fuel. Its scientific mission will begin in a month or so, once its thrusters’ emissions drift away.

History of observing the Sun

As such, Aditya-L1 supplements India’s storied history of observing the sun — dating back to the Kodaikanal Solar Observatory, which commenced operations in 1901 — by lofting it into space.
It also follows the XPoSat mission, launched on January 1 to become only the world’s second X-ray polarimetry satellite, and eight years after AstroSat, which reached several highs of its own.

Public perception of such achievements

An important issue with such achievements is public perception. For example, while Aditya-L1 and AstroSat are big strides from India’s point of view, they pale in comparison to the imaging abilities of the James Webb Space Telescope, which is operated by three space agencies.
Yet, many continue to expect the Indian spacecraft to capture hi-res photographs of the cosmos and are disillusioned when it does not. This is not fair (setting aside the fact that not all instruments are imagers).

About AstroSat:

It is India’s first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory.
It is the first dedicated Indian astronomy mission aimed at studying celestial sources in X-ray, optical, and UV spectral bands simultaneously.
AstroSat, with a lift-off mass of 1515 kg, was launched by the Indian launch vehicle PSLV from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, on September 28, 2015, into a 650 km orbit inclined at an angle of 6 degrees to the equator.

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope designed to conduct infrared astronomy. The JWST is a collaborative project involving NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
Its high-resolution and high-sensitivity instruments allow it to view objects too old, distant, or faint for the Hubble Space Telescope.
This enables investigations across many fields of astronomy and cosmology, such as observation of the first stars and the formation of the first galaxies, and detailed atmospheric characterization of potentially habitable exoplanets.
The telescope’s primary mirror is 6.5 meters (21.3 feet) in diameter, which is much larger than the Hubble Space Telescope’s mirror. This larger mirror enables the JWST to collect more light and observe fainter objects.