ESA’s Solar Orbiter mission will aim to solve many open questions in solar science:
-The Sun’s surface is about 5 500 °C but the upper atmosphere – corona – is one million degrees. What causes this mysterious heating?
-The solar wind is a stream of charged particles emitted from the Sun. The particles reach speeds of up to 800 km/s. What makes them so fast?
-The Sun’s magnetic field drives the 11-year cycle of solar activity, but what drives the Sun’s magnetic field? The Sun’s polar regions are key to understanding the magnetic field, but no one has ever seen them up close. Solar Orbiter will take the first images of this enigmatic region.
-How does the Sun’s magnetic field affect Earth?

Solar Orbiter will investigate how the Sun transmits its energy across space, helping us to better understand how our local star influences our home planet in terms of space weather.

Find out more about the Sun’s mysteries that Solar Orbiter will aim to solve