India’s Aditya-L1 Mission Delivers Significant Finding for Global Infrastructure Protection

Indian scientists have announced the “first significant result” from Aditya-L1, the nation’s inaugural solar observation mission situated in space. These fresh insights, according to the scientists, possess the potential to safeguard power grids and communication satellites from damage during future instances when solar activities endanger infrastructure both on Earth and in space. On 16 July, the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph, or Velc – identified as the most crucial among the seven scientific instruments aboard Aditya-L1 – collected data. This data enabled researchers to accurately determine the onset time of a coronal mass ejection (CME). The investigation of CMEs – described as massive fireballs erupting from the Sun’s outermost corona layer – constitutes a primary scientific goal of India’s initial solar mission. Prof R Ramesh from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, which developed Velc, stated: “Made up of charged particles, a CME could weigh up to a trillion kilograms and can attain a speed of up to 3,000km [1,864 miles] per second while travelling. It can head out in any direction, including towards the Earth.” He further elaborated: “Now imagine this huge fireball hurtling towards Earth. At its top speed, it would take just about 15 hours to cover the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance.” The coronal ejection recorded by Velc on 16 July commenced at 13:08 GMT. Prof Ramesh, who serves as Velc’s Principal Investigator and has authored a paper on this particular CME in the esteemed Astrophysical Journal Letters, indicated that it originated on the side of the Earth. He added: “But within half an hour of its journey, it got deflected and went in a different direction, going behind the Sun. As it was too far away, it did not impact Earth’s weather.” Nevertheless, solar storms, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections regularly influence Earth’s weather. They similarly affect space weather, an environment where approximately 7,800 satellites, with over 50 belonging to India, are positioned. As reported by Space.com, these phenomena seldom present an immediate danger to human life; however, they are capable of creating significant disruption on Earth through interference with the planet’s magnetic field. Their least severe consequence involves generating striking auroras in regions near the North and South Poles. A more potent coronal mass ejection has the potential to make auroras visible in more distant skies, for instance, in London or France, as observed in May and October. However, the repercussions are considerably graver in space, where the charged particles from a coronal mass ejection are capable of causing all satellite electronics to malfunction. These events can also disable power grids and disrupt weather and communication satellites. Prof Ramesh commented: “Today our lives fully depend on communication satellites and CMEs can trip the internet, phone lines and radio communication. That can lead to absolute chaos.” The most intense solar storm documented in history took place in 1859, known as the Carrington Event, which initiated powerful auroral displays and disabled telegraph lines worldwide. Nasa scientists indicate that a storm of comparable strength was directed towards Earth in 2012, resulting in what they described as “a close shave just as perilous.” They noted that a potent coronal mass ejection traversed Earth’s orbit on 23 July, but humanity was “incredibly fortunate” that the storm cloud impacted Nasa’s solar observatory STEREO-A in space instead of our planet. In 1989, a coronal mass ejection caused a section of Quebec’s power grid to fail for nine hours, thereby depriving six million individuals of electricity. Furthermore, on 4 November 2015, solar activity interfered with air traffic control operations in Sweden and several other European airports, resulting in prolonged travel disruptions. Researchers assert that the capacity to observe solar events, such as a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection, in real time and monitor its path, could serve as an early warning. This would allow for the deactivation of power grids and satellites, thus protecting them from potential damage. For decades, the US space agency Nasa, the European Space Agency (ESA), Japan, and China have been monitoring the Sun via their space-based solar missions. The Indian space agency Isro, with its Aditya-L1 mission – named after the Hindu god of Sun – became part of this exclusive group earlier this year. From its strategic position in space, Aditya-L1 can continuously observe the Sun, even during eclipses and occultations, and conduct scientific investigations. Prof Ramesh explained that when the Sun is viewed from Earth, it appears as an orange sphere of fire, which is the photosphere – the Sun’s surface or the star’s most luminous section. The solar corona, which is the Sun’s outermost layer, becomes visible solely during a total eclipse, when the Moon positions itself between Earth and the Sun, obscuring the photosphere. According to Prof Ramesh, India’s coronagraph possesses a minor advantage compared to the coronagraph utilized in the joint Nasa-ESA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. He elaborated: “Ours is of a size that it’s able to mimic the role of the Moon and artificially hide the Sun’s photosphere, providing Aditya-L1 an uninterrupted view of the corona 24 hours a day 365 days a year.” He further noted that the coronagraph on the Nasa-ESA mission is larger, implying it obscures not only the photosphere but also segments of the corona. Consequently, it cannot detect the origin of a CME if it emerges from this concealed area. Prof Ramesh stated: “But with Velc, we can precisely estimate the time a coronal mass ejection begins and in which direction it’s headed.” India additionally operates three ground-based observatories dedicated to solar observation – located in Kodaikanal, Gauribidanur in the south, and Udaipur in the northwest. He concluded that combining their discoveries with those from Aditya-L1 would significantly enhance our comprehension of the Sun.