The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Friday said that the Plasma Analyser Package for Aditya (PAPA) payload onboard the Aditya-L1 has been operational and performing nominally. “Its advanced sensors have successfully detected the impact of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) including those that occurred during February 10-11, 2024,” ISRO said.
PAPA is an energy and mass analyser designed for in-situ measurements of solar wind electrons and ions in the low energy range. It has two sensors: the Solar Wind Electron Energy Probe (SWEEP, measuring electrons in the energy range of 10 eV to 3 keV) and the Solar Wind Ion Composition Analyser (SWICAR, measuring ions in the energy range of 10 eV to 25 keV and mass range of 1-60 amu). The sensors are also equipped to measure the direction of arrival of solar wind particles.
The payload has been operational since December 12, 2023.
“The SWEEP and SWICAR sensors on PAPA-Aditya-L1 are currently making continuous observations of solar wind electrons and ions in the default mode, demonstrating that they are performing as per the design in all modes of operations. The observations made by PAPA emphasize its effectiveness in monitoring space weather conditions and its capability to detect and analyze solar phenomena,” ISRO added The PAPA payload is developed by the Space Physics Laboratory and Avionics Entity of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC)/ISRO.
