ESA Solar Orbiter

After NASA launched its "Parker Solar Probe (PSP)" satellite on August 12 last year, ESA will launch its "Solar Orbiter" satellite in February 2020. Why another satellite to the Sun? There was already Ulysses, Wind, SOHO, Trace, Cluster, Stereo, Hinode, Proba-2, SDO and last year Parker Solar Probe.  Although we already know a lot about how the sun works, we don't understand everything yet. For example, we still do not understand the origin of the high temperatures in the Corona and also not the accelerating mechanism of the plasma and particles, the solar wind, in the Corona. The riddle of the Solar Dynamo also remains: how do magnetic fields arise in and around the Sun and what contributions do the magnetic fields make in the Chromosphere, Corona and beyond in the Heliosphere. The new solar satellite "Solar Orbiter" tries to provide answers to all this.

The Solar Orbiter weighs around 1800 kg (compared to PSP 600 kg) and will take 10 measuring instruments on board, including the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager made in Liège(B). The Solar Orbiter will rotate around the sun in an elliptical orbit and eventually shear around the Sun every 6 months. The orbit always stretches from the Earth to about 42 million km from the Sun and therefore within the orbit of Mercury. In itself this is not a record because the PSP will approach the Sun to an incredible distance of 6.2 million km. By operating at a greater distance, the temperatures to which the Solar Orbiter will be exposed are limited to 600°C compared to 1400°C for the PSP. As a result, photos can be taken during this mission, which is not the case for the PSP. And of course we are already looking forward to it! The Solar Orbiter will change with every approach it's inclination with a maximum of 33 ° compared to the ecliptic. This allows the poles of  Sun to be included in the research.

See also : ESA Websit on Solar Orbiter  and some more background.