Few 1-year-olds are as bold explorers as NASA and the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter. The spacecraft is already 138 million miles from Earth and is about to take the baby’s first trip behind the Sun.
Launched on February 10, 2020, it is finally the season of conjunction for the lucky spaceship, referring to the apparent approach of the probe to the Sun when viewed through the eyes of the Earth. Built like a cosmic water skipper and tasked with observing the Sun in incredible detail, the Solar Orbiter will inspect everything from our star’s solar wind to its solar cycles. Now, at about 25,000 large walls in China, far from Earth, the probe will be able to report on the unexpected features of the star.
“On the 10th [February], we will be at perihelion; that is, the closest approach to the Sun to the current orbit, just under half the distance between the Sun and the Earth, ”said Daniel Müller, a scientist in ESA’s Solar Orbiter project. “This will allow us to observe the Sun at a very high resolution.”
Solar Orbiter is equipped with several different images, which will look at the Sun from a record proximity. (Rooms are already paying dividends recently capturing three of the planets in the solar system in a single field of view). Are numerous tools looking at our Sun at one time, but the unique suite of Solar Orbiter instruments offers a whole new perspective.
The orbiter does not bear any immediate danger due to the heat on the far side of the Sun. It has a thermal shield coated with black calcium phosphate, which helps the stargazer withstand temperatures of almost 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
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A greater concern is the capricious nature of the Sun’s heliosphere, which can disrupt radio signals from Earth trying to reach the probe, slowing down cosmic correspondence and even completely reducing communication.
Fortunately, NASA and ESA have prepared for such challenges. Even in radio silence, the orbiter will continue to record its observations remotely, for earth discharge once the connection is restored.
“Our baseline is that we can communicate with the Solar Orbiter at any time, except when the satellite is ‘behind the Sun’, as seen from Earth,” Müller said. “Starting February 12, the angle between the Sun, the Earth and the Solar Orbiter will be more than 5 degrees and we will be able to start the descending connections again at nominal telemetry rates.”
There are still many things for the spacecraft, which is scheduled to launch its next flight from Venus (the second of a planned seven) in August, followed by a flight from Earth in late November. As always in space exploration, new horizons await us.