Chapter 1: The Launch of Solar Orbiter

On a remarkable Sunday night, the Solar Orbiter, a collaborative project of Europe and NASA, soared into the cosmos on a groundbreaking mission aimed at capturing the first-ever images of the sun's mysterious poles.

"We're en route to the sun. Go Solar Orbiter!" exclaimed Cesar Garcia Marirrodriga, the project manager for the European Space Agency. "This is an extraordinary moment … it's as if we're unstoppable."

With a budget of $1.5 billion, this spacecraft will work alongside NASA's Parker Solar Probe, which was launched a year and a half ago, to explore the sun's secrets from unprecedented proximity. Although the Solar Orbiter won't approach the sun's corona—its outer atmosphere—as closely as Parker, it will embark on a unique orbit that allows it to traverse both poles, a feat never accomplished before. Gunther Hasinger, the European Space Agency's science director, likened their combined efforts to a musical ensemble.

"Each instrument contributes its own melody, yet together they create the symphony of the sun," Hasinger noted.

The Solar Orbiter was constructed in Europe, equipped with nine scientific instruments, with NASA contributing the tenth and orchestrating the late-night launch from Cape Canaveral.

A gathering of nearly 1,000 scientists and engineers from Europe and the U.S. came together under a full moon as the United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket ascended, illuminating the night sky. Spectators flocked to nearby roads and beaches to witness the event.

The rocket remained visible for four full minutes after liftoff, appearing like a brilliant star in the dark. Europe's project scientist Daniel Mueller expressed his enthusiasm, describing the event as "picture perfect," while his NASA counterpart, scientist Holly Gilbert, simply stated, "One word: Wow."

NASA confirmed the mission's success an hour and a half later when the Solar Orbiter's solar wings were deployed.

The Solar Orbiter, a boxy spacecraft weighing 4,000 pounds (1,800 kilograms) with delicate instrument booms and antennas, is set to swing past Venus in December and again the following year, as well as Earth, utilizing the planets' gravity to adjust its trajectory. Full scientific operations are anticipated to commence in late 2021, with the first close encounter with the sun scheduled for 2022, followed by more every six months.

At its closest approach, Solar Orbiter will come within 26 million miles (42 million kilometers) of the sun, well within Mercury's orbit. In contrast, the Parker Solar Probe has already ventured within 11.6 million miles (18.6 million kilometers) of the sun, aiming for a record proximity of 4 million miles (6 million kilometers) by 2025, but it will not explore the poles. That is where the Solar Orbiter will excel.

The sun's poles are marked by dark, ever-changing coronal holes, which are centers of the sun's magnetic field that reverses polarity every 11 years. The Solar Orbiter's direct perspectives are expected to provide a comprehensive 3-D view of the sun, located 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) from Earth.

"With the Solar Orbiter looking directly at the poles, we'll gain insight into these massive coronal hole structures," stated Nicola Fox, director of NASA's heliophysics division. "This is the source of all fast solar winds … it offers a completely unique perspective."

To safeguard the delicate instruments from the sun's intense heat, engineers developed a heat shield featuring an outer layer made from burned bone charcoal, akin to materials used in ancient cave art. This 10-foot-by-8-foot (3-meter-by-2.4-meter) shield, merely 15 inches (38 centimeters) thick, is composed of titanium foil with gaps to dissipate heat and can endure temperatures approaching 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit (530 degrees Celsius).

Embedded within the heat shield are five peepholes of varying dimensions, designed to remain open only long enough for the scientific instruments to capture measurements across X-ray, ultraviolet, visible, and other wavelengths.

These observations will not only enhance our understanding of other stars but will also provide insights into the potential habitability of exoplanets in distant solar systems.

Closer to Earth, the findings will aid scientists in predicting space weather, which can disrupt communications.

"We need to understand how the sun influences our immediate environment on Earth, as well as Mars and the Moon as we plan future missions there," remarked Ian Walters, project manager for Airbus Defence and Space, the company behind the spacecraft's design and construction. "We've been fortunate for the last 150 years since the last major solar storm. We need to be prepared; we cannot afford to wait for it to occur."

The U.S.-European Ulysses spacecraft, launched in 1990, previously traversed the sun's poles but from a greater distance and without imaging capabilities. It has been silent for over a decade. Meanwhile, the European and NASA-operated Soho spacecraft, launched in 1995, continues to return valuable solar data.

In total, more than a dozen spacecraft have focused on solar studies over the past three decades. However, it has only recently become feasible for advanced missions like the Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter to approach the sun without being incinerated.

Fox describes this period as "a golden age" for solar physics.

"There is so much more science to explore," she remarked, "and it's undoubtedly an exciting time to be involved in heliophysics."

Chapter 2: Unveiling the Sun's Secrets

The Solar Orbiter's mission is pivotal for understanding solar phenomena.

This video outlines the Solar Orbiter's groundbreaking mission to observe the sun's poles for the first time.

The Solar Orbiter will provide crucial insights into solar dynamics, which could have implications for our understanding of other celestial bodies.

This video showcases Solar Orbiter's first glimpses of the sun, highlighting its potential to revolutionize our understanding of solar physics.