One of the equipment turned on by Isro was used by Aditya-L1, India's first solar space observatory project, to start gathering data for research purposes. “The sensors of the STEPS instrument have begun measuring supra-thermal and energetic ions and electrons at distances greater than 50,000km from Earth. This data helps scientists analyse the behaviour of particles surrounding Earth,” Isro said.
Supra-thermal refers to a phenomenon of an entity having energy greater than that associated with a comparable entity.
The Aditya Solar Wind Particle EXperiment (ASPEX) payload includes an instrument called STEPS, which stands for Supra Thermal & Energetic Particle Spectrometer. Six sensors make up STEPS, each of which measures supra-thermal and energetic ions while looking in a different direction.
“These measurements are conducted using low and high energy particle spectrometers. The data collected during Earth’s orbits helps scientists to analyse the behaviour of particles surrounding the Earth, especially in the presence of the magnetic field of Earth,” Isro said.
It added that STEPS was activated on September 10 at a distance greater than 50,000 km from Earth. This distance is equivalent to more than eight times the Earth’s radius, placing it well beyond Earth’s radiation belt region. “After completing the necessary instrument health checks, data collection continued until the spacecraft had moved farther than 50,000 km from Earth. Each unit of STEPS is operating within normal parameters,” Isro said.
The Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) created STEPS with assistance from the Isro Space Application Centre (SAC).