Meet Dr Sankarasubramanian K, ISRO scientist heading Aditya-L1 mission; know his educational qualifications

After the success of Chandrayaan-3, India’s moon mission, the Indian Space Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch its first-ever solar observation space mission known as ‘Aditya L1’. 

Aditya L1 will launch on September 2 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. It aims to improve understanding of the most powerful energy source in the universe by shedding light on the Sun's complex processes through up-close studies. We shall examine the relevance, launch window, spending limit, and core idea of the Aditya L1 Mission in this article. 

Why is it called ‘Aditya L1’? What does it mean?
‘Aditya’ is named after the Hindu Son god Aditya. The L1 stands for the Lagrange point 1 of the Sun-Earth system.

What is the objective of Aditya L1?
The main goal of the mission is to investigate the Sun, the corona, its outermost layer, and the phenomena that surround it. The project, which is named after the Hindu Sun God "Aditya," intends to collect critical scientific data and insights into the Sun's activity and its effects on space weather and the ecosystem on Earth.

Aditya L1's array of instruments will enable researchers to examine the Sun's surface and corona in unprecedented depth by seeing the Sun at various light wavelengths. The mission's primary objective is to learn more about the dynamics of the magnetic field, solar flares, and other solar processes that affect Earth's climate and space weather.

Who is the principal scientist of the Aditya L1 mission?
Dr Sankarasubramanian K. is a senior solar scientist at the U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), Bengaluru. He obtained his PhD in Physics from Bangalore University through the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru. Instrumentation, optics, and the solar magnetic field are some of his scientific interests. He has made numerous contributions to the ISRO missions AstroSat, Chandrayaan-1, and Chandrayaan-2. 

He is currently in charge of URSC's Space Astronomy Group (SAG). For the forthcoming missions of Aditya-L1, XPoSat, and science payload atop the Chandrayaan-3 propulsion module, SAG is working to build scientific payloads. Additionally, he is the lead researcher for one of the Aditya-L1's X-ray payloads. The Aditya-L1 Science Working Group, which includes experts from many Indian institutions, is also led by Dr. Sankarasubramanian K.