ESA Science & Technology - Solar Orbiter

The first images from Solar Orbiter, a new Sun-observing mission by ESA and NASA, have revealed omnipresent miniature solar flares, dubbed 'campfires', near the surface of our closest star.

ESA's Solar Orbiter has successfully completed four months of painstaking technical verification, known as commissioning. Despite the challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the spacecraft is now ready to begin performing science as it continues its cruise towards the Sun.

ESA's Sun-exploring mission Solar Orbiter has made its first close approach to the Sun on 15 June, getting as close as 77 million km to the star's surface, about half the distance between the Sun and Earth.

ESA's Solar Orbiter will cross through the tails of Comet ATLAS during the next few days. Although the recently launched spacecraft was not due to be taking science data at this time, mission experts have worked to ensure that the four most relevant instruments will be switched on during the unique encounter.

After a brief shutdown of science instruments and a period in 'safe standby', ESA's planetary missions are getting back to what they do best, gathering science data from around the Solar System.

Watch a replay of the press briefing from 16 July with Solar Orbiter mission experts, who presented the unique first images from ESA's new Sun-observing spacecraft.

Watch a replay of the live coverage of the launch of Solar Orbiter, ESA's new Sun-exploring spacecraft, which will look at our parent star from a completely new perspective. The spacecraft was launched by the US Atlas V 411 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on 10 February 2020.

Download this interactive media kit to learn more about the launch of Solar Orbiter in February 2020 and the science goals of the mission.

Animation showing the trajectory of Solar Orbiter around the Sun, highlighting the gravity assist manoeuvres that will enable the spacecraft to change inclination to observe the Sun from different perspectives.