This year the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to launch the Aditya-L1 mission from Sriharikota aboard the PSLV rocket by June or July. Aditya translates to 'the sun' . 

Aditya-L1 is India’s first space-based Indian mission to study the Sun. The Aditya-L1 mission will be launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to the L1 orbit of the Sun-Earth system, which is about 1.5-million-km from Earth. L1 orbit allows Aditya-L1 to look at the Sun continuously.

Aditya-L1 is the first Indian space mission to observe the Sun and the solar corona.

Aditya-L1 to carry seven Payloads 

Primary payload of the seven payloads of Aditya-L1 is the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) which has been designed and fabricated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru. VELC weighs 90 kg,

The VELC is the heaviest payload and it will be used to gather data on the sun's corona, the outermost layer of its blazing atmosphere.

The other six payloads are being developed by the ISRO and other scientific institutions.

 About Aditya L1

• The spacecraft is to study the following:
• Origin, composition and dynamics of solar wind. Solar Winds are created due to the expansion of the sun’s plasma
• Photosphere and Chromosphere of the sun
• Corona of the sun
• Energetic particles of the sun

Key Takeaways 

Aditya was initially planned as a 400 kg class satellite with just one payload-- the VELC.