ISRO Opens Proposal Cycle for Aditya-L1 Observations

In News: ISRO Opens Proposal Cycle for Aditya-L1 Observations

Background:

The Aditya-L1 mission, India’s first space-based solar observatory, was launched on 2 September 2023 and reached the Sun–Earth Lagrangian point L1 on 6 January 2024, 127 days post-launch. From this vantage point, approximately 1.5 million km from Earth, Aditya-L1 provides continuous, uninterrupted observations of the Sun, free from eclipses or occultation. Over the last two years, the mission has generated more than 23 TB of data, much of which is publicly available and has contributed to several publications in international peer-reviewed journals.

Key Features:

• Announcement of Opportunity (AO): ISRO has launched its first AO inviting Indian scientists and researchers from universities, institutes, and colleges to submit proposals as Principal Investigators (PIs) for observation time.
• Payloads: Aditya-L1 carries seven payloads:
  1. Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC)
  2. Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT)
  3. Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS)
  4. High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer (HEL1OS)
  5. Aditya Solar wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX)
  6. Plasma Analyser Package for Aditya (PAPA)
  7. Advanced Tri-axial High Resolution Digital Magnetometers
• First AO Cycle: Observations from VELC and SUIT payloads are available for proposals. Approved observations will be conducted between April and June 2026 via the Aditya-L1 Proposal Processing System (ALPPS) hosted at the Indian Space Science Data Centre (ISSDC).
• Eligibility: Only Indian residents engaged in solar research with necessary scientific and technical justification can apply.

Key Issues:

• Technical challenges: Maintaining continuous and high-quality data transmission over 1.5 million km distance is complex and requires robust ground infrastructure.
• Policy/coordination gaps: Effective utilization of public data may depend on timely proposal approvals and coordination with ISRO’s data systems.
• Capacity-building: Indian solar physics community needs adequate expertise and computational facilities to analyze the data effectively.

Implications:

• Expands India’s contribution to global solar science.
• Enables high-resolution solar observations, critical for understanding solar activity, coronal mass ejections, and space weather prediction.
• Provides opportunities for research publications and international collaboration.

Applications:

• Scientific research: Solar physics, heliophysics, and magnetospheric studies.
• Space weather forecasting: Data can improve models for satellite protection and communication systems.
• Educational use: Provides a platform for training Indian students and researchers in advanced space instrumentation and data analysis.

Way Forward:

• Encourage maximum participation from Indian universities and research institutes.
• Expand payload availability for future AO cycles to utilize other instruments like SoLEXS, HEL1OS, ASPEX, PAPA, and magnetometers.
• Strengthen data analysis infrastructure and collaboration networks within the Indian solar physics community.

Institution: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

• Established: 1969
• Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
• Function: India’s national space agency responsible for space research, satellite development, and space exploration missions
• Reports/Data: More than 23 TB of data from Aditya-L1 mission available in public domain; results published in international peer-reviewed journals

Updated - 06 January 2026; 11:43 AM | News Source: The Hindu