CNN —India launched its first spacecraft dedicated to studying the sun, building on a month of historic successes for the country’s civil space efforts.
The spacecraft, called Aditya-L1, launched from Sriharikota, an island off the Bay of Bengal, at 11:50 a.m. Saturday local time (2:20 am ET).
The successful liftoff of Aditya-L1 comes less than two weeks after India’s space agency, the Indian Space Research Organization, made history by landing its Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on the lunar surface.
India’s Aditya-L1 will add to information gathered on other missions designed to study the sun, including NASA’s ongoing Parker Solar Probe that in 2021 became the first spacecraft to “touch” the sun.
India’s first dedicated solar mission adds to the country’s status as an emerging space superpower.
Persons:
Aditya, India’s
Organizations:
CNN — India, Indian Space Research Organization, Aditya, Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Parker, Probe
Locations:
Bengal, India