Spotlight

The ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter mission, launched in February 2020, will explore the Sun and heliosphere from close up and out of the ecliptic plane. It aims to address the overarching questions of how the Sun creates and controls the heliosphere, and why solar activity changes with time. Already during its cruise phase, Solar Orbiter has collected unique data at solar distances down to 0.49 AU. Following two gravity assist maneuvers at Venus and Earth later this year, Solar Orbiter will start its nominal mission phase in November 2021 and have its first close solar encounter at 0.32 AU in March 2022. By combining high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy of the Sun with detailed in-situ measurements of the surrounding heliosphere, Solar Orbiter will enable us to determine the linkage between observed solar wind streams and their source regions on the Sun. Over the course of the 10-year mission, the highly elliptical orbit will get progressively more inclined to the ecliptic plane. Thanks to this new perspective, Solar Orbiter will deliver images and comprehensive data of the unexplored Sun’s polar regions and the side of the Sun not visible from Earth. This talk will provide a mission overview and highlight the first science results.