Solar Orbiter: Mission and spacecraft design

The main scientific goal of Solar Orbiter is to address the central question of heliophysics: 'how does the Sun create and control the heliosphere?' To achieve this goal, the spacecraft carries a unique combination of ten scientific instruments (six remote-sensing instruments and four in-situ instruments) towards the innermost regions of the Solar System, to as close as 0.28 AU from the Sun during segments of its orbit. The orbital inclination will be progressively increased so that the spacecraft reaches higher solar latitudes (up to 34 degrees towards the end of the mission), making detailed studies of the polar regions of the Sun possible for the first time. This paper presents the spacecraft and its intended trip around the Sun. We also discuss the main engineering challenges that had to be addressed during the development cycle, instrument integration, and testing of the spacecraft.

Automated summary

The Solar Orbiter's main scientific goal is to address the central question in heliophysics: how does the Sun create and control the heliosphere? It carries ten scientific instruments towards the innermost regions of the Solar System, reaching as close as 0.28 AU from the Sun. The spacecraft's orbital inclination will be progressively increased to reach higher solar latitudes, enabling detailed studies of the polar regions of the Sun for the first time.