India has launched its inaugural spacecraft dedicated to solar research, building on the success of a historical mission that recently achieved a soft landing on the Moon.
Named Aditya-L1, the spacecraft was launched from Sriharikota, an island in the Bay of Bengal, embarking on a journey of 1.5 million kilometres.
The mission is expected to last four months, according to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which just days ago successfully executed a soft landing on the Moon with its Chandrayaan-3 mission.
The solar-study mission is named after Surya, the Hindu sun god also known as Aditya. The spacecraft will be positioned around Lagrange Point 1, a location in orbital configuration where smaller objects can remain stationary relative to two larger bodies due to the balancing of gravitational forces.
Once Aditya is in its designated position, it will orbit the Sun at the same rate as it orbits the Earth, thereby requiring minimal fuel to accomplish its slated tasks.