Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

India's sun mission spacecraft crosses sphere of earth’s influence

Aditya, named after the Hindu sun deity, has travelled 920,000km, just over half the journey's total distance

India's sun mission spacecraft crosses sphere of earth’s influence

INDIA’S sun-monitoring spacecraft has crossed a landmark point on its journey to escape “the sphere of earth’s influence”, its space agency said, days after the disappointment of its moon rover failing to awaken.

The Aditya-L1 mission, which started its four-month journey towards the centre of the solar system on September 2, carries instruments to observe the sun’s outermost layers. “The spacecraft has escaped the sphere of earth’s influence,” the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) said last Saturday (30).


Aditya, named after the Hindu sun deity, has travelled 920,000km, just over half the journey’s total distance.

At that point, the gravitational forces of both astronomical bodies cancel out, allowing the mission to remain in a stable halo orbit around our nearest star.

“This is the second time in succession that ISRO could send a spacecraft outside the sphere of influence of the earth, the first time being the Mars Orbiter Mission”, the agency added.

In August, India became the first country to land a craft near the largely unexplored lunar south pole, and just the fourth nation to land on the moon.

Rover Pragyan surveyed the vicinity of its landing site, but was powered down before the start of lunar night, which lasts roughly two weeks on earth.

India had hoped to prolong the mission by reactivating the solar-powered vehicle once daylight returned to the lunar surface, but so far has been greeted by radio silence. “It is OK if it does not wake up because the rover has done what it was expected to do,” ISRO chief S Somanath said last Wednesday (27).

India is slated to launch a three-day crewed mission into earth orbit by next year.

More For You

US-India-iStock

India’s exports to the US increased by 11.6 per cent to £64.9 billion (USD 86.51 billion) in 2024-25, from £58.1 billion (USD 77.52 billion) in 2023-24. (Photo: iStock)

US remains India’s top trading partner in FY25

THE UNITED STATES was India's largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25, with bilateral trade amounting to £98.9 billion (USD 131.84 billion), according to government data.

In the same period, India's trade deficit with China increased to £74.4 billion (USD 99.2 billion).

Keep ReadingShow less
EY London

The FRC said the probe will look into EY’s audits of the Post Office’s financial statements between 2015 and 2018.

Reuters

FRC launches probe into EY audits of post office

THE Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has launched an investigation into EY’s audit of Post Office Limited, the regulator said on Wednesday.

The move comes as inquiries continue into one of the country’s most serious miscarriages of justice.

Keep ReadingShow less
Jonathan Reynolds to visit China despite 'steel tensions'

Jonathan Reynolds reacts during his visit to one of the Blast Furnaces at British Steel's steelworks site in Scunthorpe, northern England, on April 15, 2025. (Photo by DARREN STAPLES/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Jonathan Reynolds to visit China despite 'steel tensions'

BUSINESS and trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds is planning a trip to China later this year aimed at reviving trade relations, despite recent tensions over Chinese investment in the UK's steel sector.

The visit will focus on restarting the UK-China Joint Economic and Trade Commission (JETCO), which has not met since 2018, reported the Guardian. China currently ranks as Britain's fifth-largest trading partner

Keep ReadingShow less
uk-supreme-court

Susan Smith (L) and Marion Calder, directors of 'For Women Scotland' cheer as they leave the Supreme Court on April 16, 2025 in London.

Getty Images

UK Supreme Court rules legal definition of woman means biological sex

THE UNITED KINGDOM's Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the term "woman" in equality legislation refers to biological sex. However, the court said the ruling would not disadvantage transgender people.

The case centred on whether a transgender woman with a gender recognition certificate is considered a woman under the Equality Act and protected from discrimination on that basis.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK set to be hotter than Hawaii with 26°C heat later this month

With temperatures expected to peak at 26°C by Sunday

iStock

UK set to be hotter than Hawaii with 26°C heat later this month

Forecasters are predicting that the UK could experience its warmest day of the year later this month, with temperatures set to surpass those in Hawaii. According to weather experts, Sunday, 27 April, is expected to bring highs of up to 26°C, particularly across parts of eastern England.

The rise in temperature is attributed to warm air moving eastwards from the Atlantic, which will bring a noticeable shift from the cooler conditions experienced across the UK earlier in the month. Meteorologists at Metdesk, who supply data to the weather service Ventusky, expect Norfolk and Cambridgeshire to enjoy the highest temperatures.

Keep ReadingShow less