After flyby of Venus: Solar Orbiter leaves orbital plane of the solar system
Once again, the Solar Orbiter has flown close to Venus. This time, however, the probe was deflected in such a way that it is now leaving the orbital plane.
(Image: ESA/ATG medialab)
After a particularly close flyby of Venus, ESA's Solar Orbiter has begun to leave the orbital plane of the solar system and will soon be the first probe ever to look at the poles of the sun. The European Space Agency announced this on Bluesky, stating that the flyby on February 18 was a success. As planned, the probe passed the second planet in the solar system at a distance of just 379 kilometers. In doing so, the probe was tilted by 17° in relation to the plane of the planets in the solar system and will soon be able to look at our star from a perspective that no other probe has been able to achieve before.
Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt
Mit Ihrer Zustimmung wird hier ein externer Inhalt geladen.
Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
As the ESA explained in advance, the comparatively close flyby of Venus was a particular challenge. The probe had to be brought as close as possible to the planet, while at the same time the probe was particularly heated. As a result, the front of the probe with the instruments and the heat shield was turned towards the sun and was therefore unable to take any images of the planet. However, measurements could still be taken. Minimal course corrections were necessary before and after the flyby, it was reported.
Videos by heise
The Solar Orbiter was launched at the beginning of 2020 and has been orbiting our home star in ever-closer orbits ever since. However, it will not come as close to the sun as NASA's Parker Solar Probe, which is on a similar mission. The smallest planned distance of the solar orbiter is 42 million kilometers (or 0.28 AU). By deflecting off Venus, the probe will leave the orbital plane in which all planets orbit the sun. As a result, it will soon be the first probe ever to be able to photograph the sun up close from above or below. In the course of the mission, it will later achieve an even greater orbital inclination.
(mho)
