What are Lagrange Points?

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Feb 14, 2025

Lagrange Points are positions in space where the gravitational forces of two celestial bodies produces an enhanced amount of attraction & repulsion. This causes a spacecraft or a satellite present at that point to remain in a fixed position without the need of control thrusters or orbital correction with minimal fuel consumption. 

L1 Lagrange Point

L1 Lagrange point is the point between the earth & sun where it remains in a constant position between them. The L1 point is useful to observe or monitor the sun, as the constant stream of particles from the Sun & the solar winds reaches L1 before it reaches the earth. Satellites such as SOHO & the ESA/NASA solar watchdog are positioned here.

L2 Lagrange Point

The L2 Lagrange point is located 1.5 million km behind the earth as viewed from the sun. The L2 point is primarily used to observe the vast oblivion behind the Earth for astronomy. Example - Herschel, Planck & Gaia.

L3 Lagrange Point

L3 Lagrange point lies behind the sun, and it is a point that cannot be observed from earth. It offers the potential to observe the far side of the earth. However, no satellites have been placed at this point because feasible communication with a satellite is difficult to establish from the earth due to the Lagrange point being placed behind the sun.

L4 & L5 Lagrange Points

The L4 & L5 Points lie at 60° ahead of and behind the earth. L4 & L5 points are the most stable Lagrange points and primarily dust & asteroids tend to accumulate in this region. Satellites or spacecraft at L4 & L5 points are extremely stable at this point.

Space Missions - A list of all Space Missions

esa

Name Date
Altius 01 May, 2025
Hera 01 Oct, 2024
Arctic Weather Satellite 01 Jun, 2024
EarthCARE 29 May, 2024
Arctic Weather Satellite (AWS) 01 Mar, 2024
MTG Series 13 Dec, 2022
Eutelsat Quantum 30 Jul, 2021
Sentinel 6 21 Nov, 2020
OPS-SAT 18 Dec, 2019
Cheops 18 Dec, 2019

isro

Name Date
INSAT-3DS 17 Feb, 2024
XPoSat 01 Jan, 2024
Aditya-L1 02 Sep, 2023
DS-SAR 30 Jul, 2023
Chandrayaan-3 14 Jul, 2023
NVS-01 29 May, 2023
TeLEOS-2 22 Apr, 2023
OneWeb India-2 26 Mar, 2023
EOS-07 10 Feb, 2023
EOS-06 26 Nov, 2022

jaxa

Name Date
VEP-4 17 Feb, 2024
TIRSAT 17 Feb, 2024
CE-SAT 1E 17 Feb, 2024
XRISM 07 Sep, 2023
SLIM 07 Sep, 2023
ALOS-3 07 Mar, 2023
ISTD-3 07 Oct, 2022
JDRS 1 29 Nov, 2020
HTV9 21 May, 2020
IGS-Optical 7 09 Feb, 2020

nasa

Name Date
NEO Surveyor 01 Jun, 2028
Libera 01 Dec, 2027
Artemis III 30 Sep, 2026
Artemis II 30 Sep, 2025
Europa Clipper 10 Oct, 2024
SpaceX CRS-29 09 Nov, 2023
Psyche 13 Oct, 2023
DSOC 13 Oct, 2023
Psyche Asteroid 05 Oct, 2023
Expedition 70 27 Sep, 2023