NASA has joined forces with the European Space Agency spacecraft for an interesting mission of seeing the Sun's top and bottom. The next decade should look interesting as a Solar Orbiter rocket is tasked with a mission to take pictures from the top and the bottom of the Sun. This launch took place on Sunday Night just as the Oscars were being given away during the 2020 Academy Awards.
Quite an important mission to happen low key, the Solar Orbiter illuminated the dark sky of Florida's Atlantic coast, which was a bit low-key to put the spacecraft into orbit around the scorching sun. This collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency has become one of the most successful collaborations in space exploration in history! For now, the Solar Orbiter will make sure that its instruments are working well and prepare the necessary additional research and improvement for a full decade of more solar discoveries.
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The sun in a new perspective
Have you ever noticed that we do not have many photos of the sun? This is due to the lack of equipment and preparedness for an actual mission to be launched for us to understand the sun better. The Solar Orbit is said to travel in an ecliptic way just like other planets and travel around the sun documenting the whole journey.
An external complication that the Solar Orbiter has to endure
The Solar Orbiter will have to cross paths with Venus after Christmas day, and this will result in Venus sucking the Solar Orbiter out of its natural rotation. We can expect this to take place around 2025, and this disorientation might even result in 17 degrees, which may cause the Solar Orbiter to get a good view of the Polar Regions.
The instruments of the Solar Orbiter
There are 10 specific scientific instruments that the Solar Orbiter uses, and they are used to measure the magnetic fields and particles of the solar wind. Of course, there are also high powered cameras in the mix to take extra high-quality pictures of the moon. One thing about this camera is that they have heat-resistant windows that serve as protection from extreme temperatures and harsh conditions that the Solar Orbiter may find itself in space.
The partnership of NASA and the European Space Agency
The tasks were divided among the two agencies as the European Space Agency took charge of creating the spacecraft along with its instruments and NASA funded the Atlas 5 rocket, which was used to launch it into space.
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Space exploration has become a global endeavor as different agencies are working together to make sure that the extraterrestrial field is better discovered for the good of mankind in general. The sun is just one of many inter-agency collaborations, including NASA and the European Space Agency. We can look forward to many more collaborations in the future.
