Aditya-L1 will be launched today (File) from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh by PSLV-C57.
Washington:
As the countdown to Aditya-L1, India’s first solar mission to the Sun, begins, former International Space Station commander Chris Hadfield hailed India’s „technological prowess” and said everyone on Earth is „counting on technology”.
The launch of India’s Sun Mission is scheduled at 11:50 am today from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, with all launch rehearsals and in-vehicle tests completed.
Aditya-L1 is India’s first solar space probe and will be launched by PSLV-C57. It will carry seven different payloads for a detailed study of the Sun, four of which will observe the light from the Sun and the other three will measure the location parameters of the plasma and magnetic fields.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, former astronaut Chris Hadfield talks about how the findings of the Aditya L-1 mission will impact human spaceflight.
„So putting something like the Aditya L-1 between us and the Sun, to sense those things, to better understand how the Sun works and the threats to Earth, to protect us as humans is good for everyone. But, of course, our power grid, our Internet grid, and the thousands of satellites that we rely on Everything is in orbit,” he said.
Aditya-L1 will be placed in a halo orbit around Lagrangian Point 1 (or L1) 1.5 million km from Earth in the direction of the Sun. The distance is expected to be covered in four months.
Mr Hadfield expressed the international space fraternity’s expectations from the Aditya L-1, saying, „Well, everyone on Earth believes in the technology to have electricity in their homes and businesses… We really do. A complex interconnected global power and data system… It’s really useful. Information, not just for ISRO, obviously not just for the Indian space programme, but space weather is important to the world.”
Major objectives of India’s solar mission include the physics of the solar corona and its heating mechanism, acceleration of the solar wind, coupling and dynamics of the solar atmosphere, diffusion and temperature anisotropy of the solar wind, and the origin of coronal mass ejections (CME). Combustion and Near-Earth Space Weather.
The Sun’s atmosphere, the corona, is what we see during a total solar eclipse. A coronagraph like the VELC is an instrument that cuts light from the Sun’s disk so that it can image the faintest corona at all times, according to the Bengaluru-based Indian Astrophysical Institute.
Chris Hadfield said the successful landing of ISRO’s lunar probe Chandrayaan-3 was „a strong demonstration of the increased capability of Indian technology”.
„This is a historic moment for India and the world.”
He praised India’s technological progress, saying, „This example of landing on the moon and sending a probe to the sun or at least observing the sun and preparing Indian astronauts to fly in space is a great example for everyone. India, but for everyone around the world, the Indian technological prowess now and all that is to come.” It also gives a clue.”
Regarding India’s Moon Mission (Chandrayaan-3) budget, Chris Hadfield, former commander of the International Space Station, said, „It is very important to put the budget in perspective… compared to everything else that the Indian government does. That’s like 100th of 1% of the total budget…compared to what other countries spend.Do something similar, it’s one of India’s great strengths…it makes them (India) very competitive…India’s cheapest and most successful way to land on the moon. , is a testament to those Indian aerospace companies. Something that can be done for much less money than the rest of the world is a good business model.”
In the context of the economic push to turn the technology into a profitable space business, the former commander of the International Space Station also said, „India is in a very strong leverage position to do that.”
„I think Prime Minister Narendra Modi has seen this over the years. He’s been directly involved with the Indian Space and Research Institute. So, it’s a very smart move now on the part of India’s leadership. To develop it, but in the process of privatizing it, so that businesses and the people of India will benefit.” said Mr Hadfield.
Astronaut Chris Hadfield wrote 'Apollo Murders’ and is set to release the sequel to 'The Defector’ in October.
„My new book is 'The Defector,’ which comes out on October 10. It’s a thriller fiction, alternate history fiction. And everything in the book is real, but it’s so much fun to weave in a plot. Astronauts and test pilots and the space program and the nuclear program. was going on,” he said.