ESA’s Solar Orbiter survived a collision with a coronal mass ejection
(ESA/ATG medialab https://bit.ly/3RLF9iq)
The Solar Orbiter probe collided with a coronal mass ejection (CME) during its third gravitational maneuver near Venus.
The CME originated on the Sun a few days before the flyby.
The systems of the ship were not damaged, and the working scientific instruments collected data on the parameters of the charged particles of the ejection.
The Solar Orbiter probe was launched into space in 2020 to study our star.
According to the plan, the spacecraft will work for at least 9 years, making 22 rendezvous with the Sun.
However, the ESA mission will not fly up very close to the star, like the Parker probe did.
The scientific program of the probe includes:
- the study of active regions on the Sun
- prominences
- coronal mass ejections
- the solar wind
Also, in 2025, the Solar Orbiter will begin to receive the first full-fledged images of the poles of the Sun, which have not been studied before.
So far, the probe has made:
- 4 approaches to the Sun
- 1 gravitational maneuver near the Earth
- 3 (of 7) gravitational maneuvers near Venus
The third close flyby of Venus took place on September 4, 2022, when the Solar Orbiter was at a minimum distance of 6 thousand kilometers from the surface of the planet.
HARD ENCOUNTER
However, during the flyby, the probe hit a large coronal mass ejection that originated on the Sun on August 30 and was directed towards Venus.
The CME did not harm the systems of the spacecraft because some of the scientific instruments were turned off in advance (even before the flight).
Also, the functioning instruments were designed to work in extreme conditions and recorded an increase in the number of charged particles, such as protons, electrons and helium ions.
(ESA/NASA SOHO https://bit.ly/3D5swL0)
ESA expects that the data collected by the probe during the flyby will help scientists improve models of the distribution of coronal mass ejections in the interplanetary medium.
All the information will also help to make better space weather forecasts.
Source:
- ESA: https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations/Coronal_mass_ejection_hits_Solar_Orbiter_before_Venus_flyby
- Space.com: https://www.space.com/solar-orbiter-hit-by-coronal-mass-ejection
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