Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) for Aditya-L1 Mission

Why in News?

The Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) has handed over the Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the Aditya-L1 mission. Aditya-L1 is India’s first dedicated solar mission, and SUIT is one of the seven payloads onboard. 

SUIT will provide full disk images of the Sun in the near-ultraviolet wavelength range, allowing for the study of solar radiation and the transfer of mass and energy from the Sun’s photosphere to its chromosphere.

Aditya-L1 Mission

Aditya-L1 is India’s inaugural solar mission set to launch in 2022 using a PSLV-XL rocket. It will be positioned in a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrange point L1, approximately 1.5 million km from Earth. The mission aims to study the Sun’s corona, its outermost layer extending millions of kilometers into space. 

The corona is extremely hot and emits radiation in various wavelengths. Aditya-L1 will investigate the corona, solar wind, solar flares, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), magnetic reconnection, and other phenomena related to the Sun’s magnetic activity.

Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT)

SUIT, designed by IUCAA, is an instrument specifically crafted to capture near-ultraviolet images of the Sun. It consists of an off-axis Ritchey-Chrétien telescope with a primary mirror diameter of 140 mm and a focal length of 2 m. SUIT employs a 4k×4k CCD detector with a high quantum efficiency of over 90% in the near-UV range. 

The instrument has 11 filters covering wavelengths from 200 nm to 400 nm, enabling simultaneous observations of various layers and features of the Sun’s atmosphere.

Significance

The Aditya-L1 mission offers a unique opportunity to study the Sun continuously from a stable vantage point. SUIT’s unprecedented data on the Sun’s near-UV emissions and their variations will enhance our understanding of the Sun’s structure, dynamics, activity, and its influence on Earth’s atmosphere and climate. 

The instrument will contribute to the global network of solar spectral irradiance (SSI) measurements, improving the accuracy and reliability of SSI models and datasets.

Challenges and Way Forward

The Aditya-L1 mission and SUIT face challenges related to design, development, testing, and operation. These include the harsh space environment at the L1 point, the complex optical system of SUIT, managing the large volume of data generated, and calibration and validation of SUIT data. 

Overcoming these challenges requires collaboration, coordination, scientific expertise, and technical innovation among various stakeholders, including ISRO, IUCAA, research institutes, and universities.

By addressing these challenges, the Aditya-L1 mission and SUIT will contribute significantly to solar research and our understanding of the Sun’s behavior, which has implications for space weather and its impact on Earth.