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Solar Orbiter

author: ESA/ATG medialab/Novapix

reference: e-son50-00300

Image Size 300 DPI: 17 * 9 cm

Artist impression of Solar Orbiter in front of the Sun (not to scale). Following its launch in February 2020 and three-year journey using gravity swingbys at Earth and Venus, Solar Orbiter will operate from an elliptical orbit around the Sun. At its closest it will approach our star within 42 million kilometres, closer than planet Mercury. Solar Orbiter’s over-arching mission goals are to examine how the Sun creates and controls the heliosphere, the extended atmosphere of the Sun in which we reside, and the effects of solar activity on it. Solar Orbiter is an ESA-led mission with NASA participation.

Keywords for this photo:

2017 - 2020 - ASTRONOMY - ILLUSTRATION - SOLAR ORBITER - SPACE - SPACECRAFT - SPACEPROBE - STAR - SUN -