Satellite e strumentazione scientifica
La sonda Solar Orbiter ha le seguenti caratteristiche:
- è stabilizzata sui 3 assi e usa come propellente energia chimica;
- i suoi pannelli solari possono essere ruotati intorno all’asse longitudinale per regolare la superficie esposta al Sole e quindi la temperatura delle celle;
- l’antenna ad alto guadagno è ritraibile;
- lo scudo termico mantiene in ombra il corpo della sonda.
Carico scientifico
| Instrument | PI | Country | Measurement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energetic Particle Detector | EPD | J. Rodríguez‑Pacheco |  | Composition, timing, and distribution functions of energetic particles |
| Magnetometer | MAG | T. Horbury |  | High-precision measurements of the heliospheric magnetic field |
| Radio and Plasma Waves | RPW | M. Maksimovic |  | Electromagnetic and electrostatic waves in the solar wind, magnetic and electric fields at high temporal resolution |
| Solar Wind Analyser | SWA | C. Owen | | Ion and electron bulk properties (including, density, velocity, and temperature) of the solar wind |
| Extreme Ultraviolet Imager | EUI | D. Berghmans |  | High-resolution and full-disk imaging of the solar atmospheric layers above the photosphere |
| Coronagraph | Metis | M. Romoli |  | Visible-light and ultraviolet imaging of the solar corona |
| Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager | PHI | S. Solanki |  | High-resolution and full-disk measurements of the photospheric vector magnetic field, line-of-sight velocity in the photosphere, and visible-light imaging |
| Heliospheric Imager | SoloHI | R. A. Howard |  | Wide-field, visible-light imaging of the solar corona |
| Spectral Imaging of the Coronal Environment | SPICE | European‑led facility |  | EUV spectroscopy of the solar disk and near-Sun corona |
| Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X‑rays | STIX | S. Krucker |  | Imaging spectroscopy of solar thermal and non-thermal X-ray emission |