ISRO Releases Second Set of Scientific Data

Why in News?

Recently, the ISRO released the second set of scientific data from the Aditya-L1 solar mission. It provides valuable insights about the Sun’s atmosphere and space weather.

Relevance:
GS-03 (Space technology)

Key Highlights

1. About Aditya-L1 Mission

Launched: September 2, 2023, aboard PSLV-C57.
Objective: To study the Sun’s photosphere, chromosphere, corona, and in-situ space environment at the Lagrange Point L1.
Current Status: The spacecraft is in its third revolution in the halo orbit around L1 (1.5 million km from Earth).
Significance: India’s first solar observation mission, enabling continuous monitoring of the Sun without Earth’s atmospheric interference.

2. Scientific Data Release

The second set of data includes:
- Solar atmospheric observations (Photosphere, Chromosphere, and Corona).
- Magnetic field measurements and in-situ particle data at L1.
Data Accessibility: Available on the Indian Space Science Data Centre (ISSDC) portal.

3. Research Opportunities

ISRO encourages researchers and students to use the Aditya-L1 data.
User manuals for data analysis are available upon registration on the ISSDC website.

4. Previous Data Release

The first set of datasets was released on January 6, 2024.
A national meet was organized to discuss scientific findings.

About ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation):

ISRO is India’s national space agency under the Department of Space, Government of India.
Headquarters: Located in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
Vision: Utilize space technology for national development, conduct space science research, and explore planets.
Antrix Corporation Limited (ACL): The commercial arm of ISRO, responsible for marketing space products, providing technical consultancy, and transferring ISRO-developed technologies.
Current Chairman: V Narayanan.

Prelims Question

Consider the following statement about Aditya-L1.

It is the first Indian solar mission to study the Sun.
It is also ISRO’s first astronomy observatory-class mission.
It was launched using the PSLV-C57 rocket.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 3 only

(b) 2 only

(d) 3 only

Ans: (a) 1 and 3 only

Explanation: Aditya-L1 is ISRO’s second astronomy observatory-class mission. The first was AstroSat (2015).