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Sciences and Exploration Directorate
Operational

Solar Orbiter

Solar Orbiter will provide close-up views of the Sun's polar regions and its back-side and will tune its orbit to the direction of the Sun's rotation as to allow the spacecraft to observe one specific area for much longer than currently possible.

Launch Date

January 2020

Class

Flight Project

Website

The Solar Orbiter is part of the joint ESA-NASA science program Heliophysical Explorers (HELEX). The Solar Orbiter consists of a three-axis stabilized spacecraft equipped with instruments for both in-situ measurements and remote-sensing observations.

Related Publications

2026. "Spatial variation of energy transport mechanisms within solar flare ribbons.", Nature Astronomy, [10.1038/s41550-025-02747-9] [Journal Article/Letter]

2025. "Multispacecraft Observations of the 2024 September 9 Backside Solar Eruption That Resulted in a Sustained Gamma Ray Emission Event.", Solar Physics, 300 (8): 120 [10.1007/s11207-025-02526-9] [Journal Article/Letter]

2025. "Solar Orbiter’s 2024 Major Flare Campaigns: An Overview.", Solar Physics, 300 (11): 152 [10.1007/s11207-025-02561-6] [Journal Article/Letter]

2025. "Connecting Solar Orbiter and L1 Measurements of Mesoscale Solar Wind Structures to Their Coronal Source Using the ADAPT-WSA Model.", The Astrophysical Journal, 990 (2): 97 [10.3847/1538-4357/adec6c] [Journal Article/Letter]

2025. "Fe xviii and Fe xx Forbidden Lines Observed by Solar Orbiter/SPICE.", The Astrophysical Journal, 986 (1): 64 [10.3847/1538-4357/add339] [Journal Article/Letter]