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\t\t\t\t\t\t18\/02\/2025<\/span> The European Space Agency (ESA) is ready to guide the ESA\/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft through its closest encounter with Venus so far.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s flyby will be the first to significantly \u2018tilt\u2019 the spacecraft\u2019s orbit and allow it to see the Sun\u2019s polar regions, which cannot be seen from Earth.<\/p>\n Studying the Sun\u2019s poles will improve our understanding of solar activity, space weather, and the Sun-Earth connection.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Since launch in 2020, Solar Orbiter has carried out a number of gravity assists at Earth and Venus to gradually shrink its orbit and bring it closer to the Sun, but never before has it come as close to a planet as it will today,\u00a018 February 2025.<\/p>\n At 21:48 CET, the spacecraft\u00a0will pass within just 379 km of Venus. For comparison, astronauts aboard the International Space Station orbit Earth at an average altitude of 408 km.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cGetting so close to the planet allows us to use its gravity to significantly change the spacecraft\u2019s orbit without using much fuel,\u201d says ESA Flight Dynamics expert Julia Schwartz.<\/p>\n \u201cThe planets in our Solar System orbit the Sun in the same roughly flat plane. Today\u2019s encounter with Venus will use the planet\u2019s gravity to significantly \u2018tilt\u2019 Solar Orbiter\u2019s orbit with respect to that plane. This\u00a0will grant Solar Orbiter a much better view of the Sun\u2019s polar regions, which cannot be seen from within the plane.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Future Venus flybys, such as the one in December 2026, will further tilt the spacecraft\u2019s orbit and enable\u00a0high-resolution imaging of the Sun\u2019s entire polar regions.<\/p>\n From its unique orbit, the mission will help us refine our understanding of solar activity and improve our ability to safeguard technology on Earth from powerful solar outbursts and erratic space weather.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Passing so close to Venus presents a number of challenges for the team at ESA\u2019s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Germany. Precise calculations and minor course corrections are necessary before and after the flyby to keep the spacecraft on track.<\/p>\n \u201cThe flyby has been carefully planned to get close enough to Venus to get the most out of the encounter while keeping the spacecraft safely above the planet\u2019s atmosphere to avoid it experiencing drag,\u201d says Sam Bammens from the Solar Orbiter Flight Control Team.<\/p>\n However, Solar Orbiter will still be bathed in the thermal radiation emitted by the planet as it passes.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cWe expect Solar Orbiter to heat up significantly during the flyby. To prepare for this, the team carried out a detailed simulation of the heating effect of the Venus gravity assist manoeuvre. Several parts of the spacecraft will experience a significant temperature increase, but all components will stay well within their design limits.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor a few of us in the control team, it is our first flyby. During the planning, we learned a lot about what it takes to navigate the Solar System, and we are very excited for tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n During the manoeuvre, Solar Orbiter will continue to point its \u2018front\u2019 \u2013 its instruments and, more importantly, its heat shield \u2013 towards the Sun to keep the spacecraft safe. That means it won\u2019t be able to point any of its cameras towards Venus and its cloud tops during the flyby,\u00a0but it is still an opportunity to gather some scientific data.<\/p>\n Unlike Earth, Venus lacks a global magnetic field to interact with the charged particles of the solar wind. However, a layer of its atmosphere known as the ionosphere interacts with the solar wind in unique ways.<\/p>\n Solar Orbiter\u2019s Magnetometer and Radio and Plasma Waves sensors will be switched on as the spacecraft passes Venus to record the planet\u2019s magnetic and plasma environment. The data they collect will contribute to ongoing research on how the solar wind affects planetary atmospheres beyond Earth.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Solar Orbiter is not the only ESA mission visiting Venus this year. ESA\u2019s Juice\u00a0spacecraft, en route to Jupiter to explore its icy moons, will also fly past the planet in August.<\/p>\n Solar Orbiter and Juice will pass Venus just 194 days apart \u2013 that\u2019s less than one day on Venus, which lasts 243 Earth days. The frequent visits highlight the planet\u2019s important role as a waypoint for ESA’s interplanetary voyagers.<\/p>\n However, while Solar Orbiter and Juice are making just brief visits to Earth\u2019s neighbour, for some ESA missions, Venus is the final destination. From arrival in 2006 until the end of the mission in 2014, ESA\u2019s Venus Express\u00a0studied the planet\u2019s atmosphere and clouds in detail and mapped its surface temperature.<\/p>\n Looking ahead, ESA\u2019s Envision\u00a0is set to launch in the early 2030s. Envision will be the first mission to provide a comprehensive view of Venus from its inner core to its upper atmosphere. In doing so, it will help scientists determine how and why, despite starting off similar, Venus and Earth evolved in such different ways.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2<\/span> likes<\/small><\/span><\/p>\n<\/header>\nCloser to Venus than ever before<\/h2>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\nCool under pressure<\/h2>\n
Cloudy with a chance for science<\/h2>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\nESA at Venus<\/h2>\n
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