S Somanath, the chief of ISRO was diagnosed with cancer on the day of the Aditya-L1 launch. He was aware of a growth in his stomach that required surgery and chemotherapy, as India undertook its maiden solar mission. Earlier, while Chandrayaan-3 was launched, the aerospace engineer had notified himself that he was facing some health issues in the second half of 2023.
In his recent interview, Somanath said, “I held a scan on the launch day of Aditya-L1. That was when I realised that I had a growth in my stomach. I got a clue about it immediately after the launch. I went to Chennai and underwent a scan. I was able to confirm that there was a problem. Then I underwent the remaining tests.”
India is planning to initiate its first human spaceflight mission Gaganyaan in 2025. PM Modi revealed the names of 4 IAF pilots who will take part in the project next year. The astronauts Ajit Krishnan, Angad Pratap, Prashant Nair and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla are receiving training which also has flight simulations and physical fitness tests at a facility in Bengaluru.
The first solar mission of India was launched on September 2, 2023. Aditya-L1 reached Lagrange point L1 in early January about 1.5 million km from earth. Aditya-L1 spacecraft carried 7 payloads to study the Sun – four to observe the light from the sun and the remaining 3 to measure unchanged variables of the plasma and magnetic fields.