Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov
RELEASE: 11-339
NASA DEVELOPING INSTRUMENTS FOR NEW SOLAR ORBITER MISSION
WASHINGTON -- NASA will begin development and testing of two science
instruments, in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA), to
be placed on ESA's newly selected Solar Orbiter mission. The
spacecraft will study the sun from a closer distance than any
previous mission.
At its closest approach, the European-led project will operate
approximately 21 million miles from the sun's surface, near the orbit
of Mercury, roughly 25 percent of the distance from the sun to the
Earth. This unique vantage point will enhance the ability to forecast
space weather.
Space weather produces disturbances in electromagnetic fields on Earth
that can induce extreme currents in wires, disrupt power lines and
cause widespread blackouts. These sun storms can interfere with
communications between ground controllers and satellites and with
airplane pilots flying near Earth's poles. Radio noise from the
storms also can disrupt cell phone service.
"Solar Orbiter is an exciting mission that will improve our
understanding of the sun and its environment," said Barbara Giles,
director for NASA's Heliophysics Division in Washington. "This
collaboration will create a new chapter in heliophysics research and
continue a strong partnership with the international science
community to complement future robotic and human exploration
activities."
Solar Orbiter will be close enough to the sun to sample solar wind
shortly after the wind has been ejected from the sun's surface.
Additionally, the spacecraft will observe in great detail the process
that accelerates the wind on the sun's surface. Data will provide
views of the sun's polar regions and far side. The spacecraft's
elliptical orbit will allow it to follow the star's rotation,
enabling observations of specific areas for much longer than is
currently possible.
Launch is planned for 2017 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station,
Fla., aboard a NASA-provided expendable launch vehicle. Among the
science investigations, two instruments valued at $80 million are
provided by NASA:
- The Solar Orbiter Heliospheric Imager (SoloHI), which will provide
revolutionary measurements to pinpoint coronal mass ejections or
CMEs. CMEs are space weather events with violent solar eruptions that
travel from 60 miles per second to more than 2,000 miles per second
with masses greater than a few billion tons. Russell Howard from the
Naval Research Laboratory in Washington is principal investigator.
- The Heavy Ion Sensor (HIS), one of a suite of sensors that will
measure density, velocity, and temperature of the solar wind. Stefano
Livi from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio is
principal investigator.
The NASA investigations for Solar Orbiter are part of NASA's Living
with a Star Program. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt,
Md., manages the program for the Heliophysics Division in the
agency's Science Mission Directorate. The program's goal is to
develop the scientific understanding necessary to address those
aspects of the connected sun-Earth system that directly affect our
lives and society.
Launch management for the mission is the responsibility of NASA's
Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
For more information about the Living with a Star Program, visit:
For more information about the Solar Orbiter program, visit:
http://sci.esa.int/solarorbiter
For more information about the Solar Orbiter selection, visit:
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMOZ59U7TG_index_0.html
-end-
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