Aditya L1 takes STEPS to collect info on energetic particles from space

Subject: Science and technology

Section: Space technology

Details:

After India’s solar mission Aditya L1 began its journey towards Lagrange point 1 following a key manoeuvre, it has started studying energetic particles in the solar wind from space, and will continue to do so for the rest of its life, a senior astrophysicist said.
The study of the solar wind, the continuous flow of charged particles from the sun which permeates the solar system, will be carried out with the help of a device named Supra Thermal & Energetic Particle Spectrometer (STEPS), a part of the Aditya Solar wind Particle EXperiment (ASPEX) payload.
The key aim of STEPS is to study the environment of energetic particles from the spacecraft’s position on the L1 point till it will function
STEPS was developed by the PRL with support from the Space Application Centre (SAC) in Ahmedabad.