New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the European Space Agency conducted a five day workshop in Thiruvananthapuram between 19 and 23 January, in coordination with the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST). The global heliophysics community gathered for an extensive workshop on Aditya-L1, Solar Orbiter and Proba 3. The event saw participation from 50 international and 150 Indian solar and heliophysics experts, researchers and students. The focus of the worlshiop was on exploiting the unprecedented solar and heliospheric data available from the Aditya-L1, Solar Orbiter and Proba 3 missions, that have complementary vantage points and orbital configurations, enabling a comprehensive view of the Sun and the heliosphere, that is not achievable from any individual mission.
An image from the workshop. (Image Credit: ISRO).
The five day workshop featured a rich science programme spanning various domains of solar and heliospheric science. There were invited talks by eminent international and national scientists, along with selected poster presentations highlighting recent advances in various aspects of solar dynamics, space weather and heliophysics. A crucial component of the workshop was the series of hands-on data analysis sessions, providing participants with practical guidance on accessing, processing and combining data from the three missions. These sessions enabled participants to work collaboratively on focused science problems, encouraging cross-mission methodologies and capacity building within the heliophysics community.
Strengthening ISRO-ESA collaboration
The workshop served as an important platform to strengthen ISRO-ESA scientific collaboration, and to nurture long-term partnerships in the heliophysics community. By integrating observations from these missions, the ISRO-ESA helophysics workshop aims to advance the understanding of the Sun and its influence on the heliosphere, paving the way for impactful future joint studies and coordinated observation campaigns. The Solar Orbiter is a joint mission by ESA and NASA, and was launched on 10 February 2020 from Cape Canaveral in Florida on an Atlas V rocket. As the name suggests, the spacecraft orbits the Sun. Aditya L1 was launched by ISRO on 2 September 2023 by the PSLV-C57 rocket, and is in a halo orbit around the first Lagrange Point of the Sun-Earth System. ISRO’s PSLV-C59 rocket launched the Proba 3 mission on 5 December 2024. The pair of satellites orbit the Earth.