Solar Orbiter will orbit our nearest star, the sun, observing it up close. It will take the first-ever direct images of its poles, while also studying the inner heliosphere—the bubble-like region around the sun created by the stream of energized, charged particles released in the solar wind.
At its closest, Solar Orbiter will come within about 42 million km of the sun: closer than the scorched planet Mercury, just over a quarter of the average distance between Earth and the sun, and closer than any European spacecraft in history.
To get it into this unique orbit at the center of the solar system, edging close to the sun's poles instead of orbiting in a 'flat' plane, like the planets, teams at mission control in Darmstadt, Germany, have planned an intricate path.
Solar Orbiter is due to launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on an Atlas V 411 rocket supplied by NASA in early February. Once it has separated from the launch vehicle, a 22- minute automatic activation sequence takes place, after which point the control team takes over the reins for the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP).
These early moments in the life of a mission are critical. It is now that the spacecraft wakes up, extends its solar arrays and teams on the ground check its health after the rigors of launch.
Elements of Solar Orbiter's science instruments are located along a 4.4 meter 'boom," which keeps them away from the main body of the spacecraft and any potential interference. This boom should be deployed before certain chemical thrusters are fired, which have the potential to contaminate the instruments during maneuvers.
Once Solar Orbiter's systems and instruments are up and running, it enters into the "cruise phase," which will last until November 2021. During this time, it will perform two gravity-assist maneuvres around Venus and one around Earth to alter the spacecraft's trajectory, guiding it towards the innermost regions of the solar system.
The first close solar pass will take place at the end of March 2022 at around a third of the distance between Earth and the sun. At this point, the spacecraft will be in an elliptical orbit that initially takes 180 days to complete, making a close approach of the sun every six months.
Picture Credits: European Space Agency
News credits: www. phys.org