One of his most exciting tasks will be to take the first photos of the solar poles.
This is the Solar Orbiter (SolO) probe , a ship equipped with cameras and sensors that will help you better understand how the giant star works and the powerful influence it has on life on Earth.
The mission, a collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA, took off successfully this Sunday, February 9 and aims to approach about 42 million kilometers of the solar surface.
It sounds like it is quite far, but that distance is considered short considering that the Sun is 150,000,000 km from Earth.
The probe will be even closer to the Sun than the planet Mercury is, where temperatures are hot.
It will take SolO less than two years to place itself in the elliptical orbit where it will begin to function around the Sun.
How is the SolO probe?
One of the biggest challenges of SolO will be to protect yourself from intense heat . When approaching the Sun, the probe must withstand temperatures around 600 ° C , with solar rays 13 times more intense than we feel on Earth.
The spacecraft must also go through powerful explosions of radiation particles that occur in the solar atmosphere.
To do this, the probe is protected inside a powerful titanium shield. It also has a coating made of animal bones that prevents the ship from getting too hot.
The photos will be taken with six cameras, through small holes that will close after each session, to prevent their components from melting.
An unprecedented mission
SolO will have the mission of capturing the first images of the solar poles, previously unexplored areas .
The probe has a total of 10 instruments that will take pictures of the crown and the solar disk . It will also measure solar winds and the magnetic field.
According to ESA, these data will offer “an unprecedented view” about how the 11-year cycles that determine the dynamics of the Sun work.
Every 11 years the magnetic field of the Sun is reversed . That is, the north and south poles of the star exchange their position.
Scientists, however, do not know exactly why this phenomenon occurs , so it is key to observe the poles in detail.
4 riddles
The SolO mission travels through space in the hope of helping us solve great mysteries of science.
For ESA, the great goal of the probe is to help us better understand what the connection between the Sun and Earth is like.
The data that SolO brings will help to understand how the Sun generates the heliosphere , a gigantic gas bubble that surrounds the entire Solar System and influences the planets that comprise it.
These are the four great mysteries that the SolO mission will try to solve:
- Solar wind: what causes solar wind and the acceleration of solar wind particles?
- The poles of S ol: what happens in these areas when the solar magnetic field changes its polarity?
- The magnetic field of S ol: how is the magnetic field generated within the Sun and how does it propagate through its atmosphere and in outer space?
- Climate esp to cer: how do events like solar flares or coronal mass ejections impacting the solar system? How do solar eruptions produce energy particles that can generate solar storms that affect the Earth?
Solar storms, for example, release billions of tons of matter and magnetism that can affect our planet.
In the worst cases, solar storms can hinder the operation of satellites, generate interference in radio communications or even affect electrical networks.
ESA scientists hope that SolO data will help improve the models used to forecast solar storms.
The solar symphony
The launch of the SolO probe has reminded us of the Parker mission that started in 2018.
Both ships will work in a complementary manner , each with specific tasks in its own orbit.
The Parker probe is much closer to the Sun, about 6.2 million kilometers, but unlike the SolO, it has no cameras to look at the Sun directly .
These two powerful ships are joined by the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) , which recently began operating in Hawaii, with the aim of observing the surface of the Sun.
“SolO joins this family of missions that study the interior of the Solar System. I see it as an orchestra, ” says Günther Hasinger, ESA’s scientific director.
“Each instrument interprets a different note, but together they make up the symphony of the Sun.”