Aditya L1 escape earth influence

Aditya L1 escape earth influence

Subject: Science and Tech

Section: Space tech

More about the news:

• India’s Aditya-L1 spacecraft, designed for solar observation, has successfully moved beyond Earth’s influence, headed for the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 1 (L1), marking ISRO’s second mission outside Earth’s sphere after the Mars Orbiter Mission.
• The spacecraft’s journey began with a Trans-Lagrangian1 Insertion (TL1I)maneuver on September 19, and it will reach L1 in January 2024, aiming to study solar phenomena, space weather, and more during its five-year mission.
• Aditya-L1 carries seven payloads, including ISRO-developed instruments and academic institute collaborations.

What are Lagrangian points:

• These are specific locations in space where the gravitational forces of two large bodies, such as the Earth and the Moon or the Earth and the Sun, balance the centrifugal force experienced by a smaller object, such as a satellite.
• Lagrange points are named in honor of Italian-French mathematician Josephy-Louis Lagrange.
• There are five Lagrangian points, labelled L1 through L5, in the three-dimensional space surrounding two large bodies in orbit around each other.
• L1, L2, and L3 are located on a line that connects the two large bodies and are unstable equilibrium points, meaning an object placed there will not stay in that position without continuous propulsion.
• L4 and L5, on the other hand, are located at the third corners of a tetrahedron formed by the two large bodies and their barycenter, and are stable equilibrium points, meaning an object placed there will remain in that position without propulsion.
• The L1 point of the Earth-Sun system affords an uninterrupted view of the sun and is currently home to the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Satellite (SOHO)
• The L2 point in the Earth-Sun system is a strategic location for spacecraft like WMAP, Planck, and the James Webb Space Telescope. It offers advantages for astronomy, as it allows for easy communication with Earth, provides uninterrupted solar power, and offers a clear view of deep space.
• The L1 and L2 points are unstable on a time scale of approximately 23 days, which requires satellites orbiting these positions to undergo regular course and attitude corrections.
• Stable orbits at L4 and L5 Lagrange points require a mass ratio greater than 24.96, seen in Earth-Sun and Earth-Moon systems, as well as elsewhere in the solar system.
• Objects found orbiting at the L4 and L5 points are often called Trojans after the three large asteroids Agamemnon, Achilles and Hector that orbit in the L4 and L5 points of the Jupiter-Sun system.