Download Solar Orbiter

The Solar Orbiter is a planned Sun-observing satellite, under
development by the European Space Agency. It is estimated to be
launched in October 2018. It will be launched with an Atlas V
rocket at Cape Canaveral AFS in Florida.
JOURNEY TO THE
SUN
This will require a
cruise phase lasting
approximately 3
years. (During this
time, the
instruments will be
commissioned, and
some in-situ data will
be acquired. )
THE CRUISE
Solar Orbiter will use
gravity assists from
Venus and the Earth.
These swing-bys will
put Solar Orbiter into
a 168-day-long orbit
around the Sun from
which the spacecraft
will begin its
scientific mission.
How do solar
transients drive
heliosphere
variability?
What drives the solar
wind and where does
the coronal magnetic
field originate from?
ORBIT
It will reach closest
approach to the Sun
every five months
and when travelling
at its fastest, it will
remain positioned
over approx. the
same region of the
solar atmosphere as
the Sun rotates on its
axis.
How do solar
eruptions produce
energetic particle
radiation that fills the
heliosphere?
Science
Goals
How does the solar
dynamo work and
drive connections
between the sun and
the heliosphere?
Heliosphere= the region of space, encompassing the solar system, in which the solar wind has
a significant influence.
corona= is an aura of plasma that surrounds the sun and other celestial bodies.
Solar dynamo= The solar dynamo is the physical process that generates the Sun’s magnetic
field. A dynamo, essentially a naturally occurring electric generator in the Sun's interior,
produces electric currents and a magnetic field.
In-situ Instruments
Remote Instruments
EPD: energetic particle
detector
EUI: Extreme Ultraviolet
Imager
MAG: Magnetometer
METIS: Coronagraph
RPW: Radio and Plasma
Waves
PHI: Polarimetric and
Helioseismic Imager
SWA: Solar Wind Analyser
SoloHI: Heliospheric
Imager
COURSE OF THE
MISSION
Venus gravity assist
manoeuvres will
increase inclination of
the orbit, so the
instruments sees the
polar regions of the Sun
clearly. Eventually
viewing at angle s
higher than 30 degrees,
compared to 7 degrees
from Earth.
SPICE: Spectral Imaging of
the Coronal Environment
STIX: X-Ray
Spectrometer/Telescope
Solar
Orbiter