India's Aditya-L1: First Solar Research Mission Set to Launch

India is set to launch its first observation mission to the Sun, named Aditya-L1, which will be located at a distance of 1.5 million km from Earth. The spacecraft will be placed at Lagrange point 1, where the gravitational forces of the Sun and Earth cancel each other out, allowing it to "hover" and orbit the Sun at the same rate as the Earth with minimal fuel consumption. Aditya-L1 will study the solar corona, photosphere, and chromosphere to improve our understanding of solar activity and its impact on Earth and near-space weather. The mission aims to provide forewarnings of solar eruptions and increase the longevity of satellites in space. The cost of the mission is estimated at $46 million.