![](\"http:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/ESA_s_missions_to_the_Sun_card_full.jpg\")
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ESA\u2019s new Sun-explorer, Solar Orbiter, will capture close-up images of never before seen regions of our parent star, including the poles, and study the electromagnetic environment in its vicinity. The cutting-edge spacecraft will get as close as 42 million kilometres away from the Sun, about a quarter of the distance between the Sun and Earth, and face scorching temperatures of up to 500\u00b0C.\u00a0<\/p>\n
ESA has a long history of studying the Sun from space. Since the launch of Ulysses in 1990, the agency has led or cooperated on several Sun-exploring missions including SOHO, the Cluster quartet and Proba-2.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The video provides a summary of ESA\u2019s past and present Sun-exploring ventures, which have transformed our understanding of the star.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The A and B roll features ESA\u2019s archive material tracing the agency\u2019s past missions to the Sun.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The B roll contains new cleanroom footage showing the early stages of integration of Solar Orbiter into the upper stage of the Atlas V launcher.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The B-roll also contains newly re-digitised ESA archive material.<\/p>\n