Solar Orbiter will travel closer to the Sun than Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun in our solar system. Solar Orbiter’s main technical challenges View Solar Orbiter’s trajectory around the Sun. Close observation of the poles will help us understand how dynamo processes contribute to the generation of the solar magnetic field. This will provide a good vantage point to observe the Sun’s poles, which is impossible to do from the Earth. (An astronomical unit (AU) is a unit used for distances within our solar system and corresponds to the average distance between the Earth and Sun, which is around 150 million kilometres.)Īlthough the orbit will initially be confined to the same plane as the Earth and other planets in our solar system, there are plans to raise the inclination of the orbit to 33 degrees. This will place it in a highly elliptical orbit where its distance from the Sun will vary between 1.2AU and 0.28AU. Solar Orbiter has already started capturing images of the Sun, but will reach its final orbit in November 2021, with the help of gravity assist manoeuvres at Earth and Venus. About the Solar Orbiter’s orbit Solar Orbiter Venus flyby. The scientific payload was developed and will be operated by a consortium of nine European institutions and NASA. There are also extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and X-ray telescopes that perform remote measurements. The remaining six carry out remote measurements of what is happening in the Sun.Īmong the varied suite of instruments, there are magnetometers and plasma analysers, both performing in situ measurements. Four of them perform in situ measurements (in the immediate vicinity of the satellite). The joint European Space Agency (ESA)/NASA Solar Orbiter mission is designed to study the Sun from close up, taking high resolution images of the Sun’s poles for the first time and helping us to understand the Sun-Earth connection. Planned mission duration: 7 years (nominal mission), plus 3 years (mission extension) About the Solar Orbiter mission A RHEA test engineer is currently working in the Solar Orbiter Science Operations Centre. A mission dedicated to the study of solar physics, combining detailed in situ and remote measurements to improve our understanding of the heliosphere, solar wind and Sun’s magnetic field.
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