India has launched its first observation mission to the Sun, just days after the country made history by becoming the first to land near the Moon’s south pole.
According to India’s space agency, the Aditya-L1 will take four months to travel 1.5 million km from the Earth – 1% of the Earth-Sun distance.
India’s first space-based mission to study the solar system’s biggest object is named after Surya – the Hindu god of Sun who is also known as Aditya.
And L1 stands for Lagrange point 1 – the exact place between Sun and Earth where the Indian spacecraft is heading.
The mission, when successful, will help scientists understand solar activity, such as solar wind and solar flares, and their effect on Earth and near-space weather in real time.
