New Delhi: India’s Aditya-L1 solar mission and Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission have produced significant scientific breakthroughs and are laying the foundation for the country’s future space exploration programme, the Centre informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
In a written reply, Union Minister of State for Space Dr. Jitendra Singh said Aditya-L1, India’s first dedicated solar observatory positioned at the Sun-Earth L1 point, has achieved several major milestones in the study of the Sun and space weather.
Among its key achievements, the spacecraft captured the first-ever spectroscopic signatures of the onset of a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), provided new insights into the intense geomagnetic storms of May and October 2024, and produced the first comprehensive analysis of photospheric iron fluorescence across 47 X-class solar flares during Solar Cycle 25. It also recorded high-resolution near-ultraviolet observations of powerful solar flares and a rare solar plasma ejection, expanding scientists’ understanding of solar eruptive events.
Although Aditya-L1 is primarily a solar physics mission rather than a dedicated space weather mission, the Minister said its observations are helping scientists better understand the Sun-Earth relationship and will contribute to India’s future capability in space weather prediction.
Highlighting the achievements of Chandrayaan-3, the Centre said the mission remains the only successful landing near the Moon’s south polar region. The ChaSTE instrument recorded the first in-situ high-latitude temperature profile beneath the lunar surface, revealing a distinct two-layer regolith structure and thermal properties that may help scientists better understand the possibility of subsurface water ice.
The Pragyan rover’s Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) detected magnesium-rich minerals and evidence supporting the Lunar Magma Ocean hypothesis, while the RAMBHA-LP instrument carried out the first high-latitude measurements of near-surface lunar plasma. The ILSA seismometer also recorded more than 250 seismic events, providing valuable insights into lunar surface activity.
Dr. Singh said the scientific findings from both missions have been published in peer-reviewed journals and are strengthening India’s position as a producer of high-impact space science data.
The Minister added that the technologies and experience gained from Aditya-L1 and Chandrayaan-3 are expected to support upcoming missions, including the Venus Orbiter Mission, Chandrayaan-4, Chandrayaan-5/LuPEX, and future deep-space exploration programmes.
