The space probe “Solar Orbiter” has reached the point closest to the sun on its journey through space, which has already lasted two years. The European Space Agency (ESA) announced today that it was regarding 48 million kilometers from the sun. This distance is less than a third of the distance between the earth and the sun.
The “Solar Orbiter” thus came closer to the center of the solar system than any space probe before it. The mission should yield new images of the star. The mission costs around 1.5 billion euros, financed by ESA and the US space agency NASA. Ten scientific instruments are on board the 1.8-ton orbiter.
As early as June 2020, the probe had flown to within 77 million kilometers of the sun and had taken pictures of mysterious “bonfires” on the star. “Solar Orbiter’s” current, highly elliptical orbit will change little over the next three years: the spacecraft will reach its closest point to the sun regarding every six months. During the next pass, which is scheduled for October, the space probe will fly to within 42 million kilometers of the sun.
