Solar Orbiter is on the way to the Sun, and at this stage all is well.
A day after the spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on top of an Atlas V 411, mission controllers at the European Space Operations Centre received a signal indicating its solar panels had successfully deployed.
In the following two days it is scheduled to deploy its instrument boom and several antennas that will communicate with Earth and gather scientific data.
An ESA-led mission with NASA participation, the Solar Orbiter will make 22 close approaches to the Sun and explore uncharted areas, including its polar regions.
It will also investigate how intense radiation and energetic particles being blasted out from the Sun and carried by the solar wind through the Solar System impact our home planet, to better understand and predict periods of stormy space weather.
“Solar Orbiter is going to do amazing things. Combined with the other recently launched NASA missions to study the Sun, we are gaining unprecedented new knowledge about our star,” says NASA’s Thomas Zurbuchen.
Originally published by Cosmos as Look out Sun, here I come
Cosmos
Curated content from the editorial staff at Cosmos Magazine.
Read science facts, not fiction...
There’s never been a more important time to explain the facts, cherish evidence-based knowledge and to showcase the latest scientific, technological and engineering breakthroughs. Cosmos is published by The Royal Institution of Australia, a charity dedicated to connecting people with the world of science. Financial contributions, however big or small, help us provide access to trusted science information at a time when the world needs it most. Please support us by making a donation or purchasing a subscription today.
