"Indebted to hard-working scientists": Congress on successful launch of Aditya-L1

NEW DELHI: As the Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launched Aditya-L1, the country's maiden solar mission, Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge said they were indebted to hard-working scientists at the country's space agency. In a post on the social media platform, X, formerly known as Twitter, he said: "Lead me from darkness to light We are indebted and grateful to our scientists, space engineers, researchers and our hard-working personnel at @ISRO for the successful launch of #AdityaL1 - Solar Observation Mission. Together, we celebrate their success and honour them with our gratitude".

The PSLV-C57.1 rocket carrying the Aditya-L1 orbiter lifted off successfully from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh at 11.50 a.m. on Saturday. The successful launch of the maiden solar mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) came on the heels of the historic lunar landing mission — Chandrayaan-3. Recalling India's solar mission journey, he said the national building capacity of science, technology and research was not achieved in just a few years but decades altogether.

"India started the journey to the sun in 2006 when our scientists proposed a solar observatory with a single instrument for the Sun. In July 2013, ISRO selected the seven payloads for the Aditya-1 mission, now renamed the Aditya-L1 mission. In November 2015, ISRO formally approved Aditya-L1". He said that following the successful historic moon landing, India's path towards placing a satellite to study the sun became a bit more secure "Nations build the capacity of science, technology and research not in just a few years, but decades altogether, and India's success in space research and exploration is a shining example of that unflinching courage and commitment. Despite all obstacles, we have prevailed".

"Our tribute to the vision, ingenuity and vigorous dedication of our legendary scientists and countless researchers for this historic accomplishment. Science, as an instrument of development, welfare and positive change, remains our magna carta. "We hope these triumphs would keep inspiring our younger generation and instil deeper scientific temper in our people," Kharge said in another tweet.

In a post on the social media platform, X, formerly known as Twitter, Jairam said, "Today's launch of Aditya-L1 is another stupendous achievement of ISRO and for India! While saluting ISRO once again, it is worthwhile recalling the recent timeline for Aditya-L1 to understand the continuity in the ISRO saga".