BENGALURU, October 2 — The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Friday published a comprehensive one-year science operations audit and open-access data repository of India's maiden dedicated solar space observatory, Aditya-L1, marking its first full year of uninterrupted observations from the Sun-Earth Lagrangian Point 1 (L1).
According to mission data compiled by the Space Applications Centre (SAC) and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), all seven indigenously engineered science payloads are operating with nominal precision within a periodic halo orbit situated approximately 1.5 million kilometers sunward of Earth. The flagship Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) and Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) captured over 150 high-velocity Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) eruption triggers and high-energy solar flare photometries across the photosphere and chromosphere.
Concurrently, in-situ instruments—the Aditya Solar Wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX), Plasma Analyser Package for Aditya (PAPA), and Advanced Tri-axial High Resolution Digital Magnetometers—documented critical solar wind proton-electron anisotropy changes during severe G5-class geomagnetic storms. The collected telemetry provides vital global space-weather predictive datasets safeguarding terrestrial telecommunications satellites, orbital navigation constellations, and regional electrical grids against solar ionizing radiation.
The orbital mechanics of the Aditya-L1 mission (launched on September 2, 2023, aboard PSLV-C57 and injected into halo orbit on January 6, 2024), celestial physics of Lagrangian points (L1 through L5 representing gravitational equilibrium in a two-body orbital system), the classic Coronal Heating Paradox, and space weather forecasting are core topics across UPSC Civil Services (GS-III: Science & Space Technology) and State PSC examinations.