For an extensive study of the Sun, which of the following is the most recent scientific mission?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — A, Aditya-L1. Launched by ISRO on 2 September 2023, Aditya-L1 is India's first dedicated space mission to study the Sun. It travels to a halo orbit around the Sun–Earth Lagrange point L1 (about 1.5 million km from Earth), from where it can continuously observe the Sun's photosphere, chromosphere and outermost layer (corona) without being eclipsed.

Why the other options are wrong — (b) There is no ISRO solar mission by this name — 'Bhaskara' refers to India's much older Bhaskara-1 and Bhaskara-2 earth-observation satellites (1979, 1981), unrelated to solar study or the L2 point.  (c) Not the mission's official name — ISRO's Sun-studying spacecraft is formally named Aditya-L1, not 'Solar Mission-L1'.  (d) Solar Orbiter is a real Sun-studying spacecraft, but it belongs to ESA and NASA (launched 2020), not to India, and is not the mission being asked about here.

Concept: Aditya-L1 is ISRO's first mission dedicated entirely to solar science. Placed in a halo orbit around the L1 Lagrange point, it carries a suite of payloads to study the Sun's corona, chromosphere, solar wind and magnetic field — phenomena that affect space weather and satellite/communication systems on Earth.

State PCS 2023 Q4 — Science & Technology PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2023 Q4 — Science & Technology PYQ with Answer