Completes Second Flight Over Venus, Europe Gets Closer to the Sun

Suara.com – Spacecraft Solar Orbiter from European Space Agency (ESA) has made its second flight over Venus.

The Solar Orbiter harnesses the gravitational pull of Venus to help reach its destination towards the center of the solar system, Sun.

Solar Orbiter is on its way to study the polar regions of the Sun in an effort to better understand the 11-year cycle.

On its second flight to Venus, the Solar Orbiter with ESA’s New Norcia monitoring station in Australia will lose contact.

Also Read:
Scientist Reveals Cause of Mysterious Dimming Betelgeuse Star

“We lost contact for six minutes as the spacecraft swung behind Venus. New Norcia station lost contact as predicted,” ESA wrote in a tweet. Daily Mail, Tuesday (10/8/2021).

This double flight offers ESA astronomers the opportunity to study Earth’s twin planet, Venus, from different locations at the same time.

This is not the first time a solar-observing satellite has visited Venus. As it flies past Venus, the Solar Orbiter can change the tilt of its orbit.

While doing so, the spacecraft can push out of the plane of the ecliptic for the best view of the Sun’s poles.

Another ESA spacecraft, BepiColombo, headed for Mercury has also made a flight to Venus before the Solar Orbiter.

Also Read:
Viral 2 Boys Selling Cakes, Brother Protects Brother from the Sun while Sleeping on the Street

Over the course of its voyage, the Solar Orbiter has obtained data since its launch in February 2020 with four of its instruments that measure the environment around the spacecraft itself.

The data collected will also provide useful information for ESA’s future Venus orbiter mission, EnVision, which will launch in the 2030s.

The Solar Orbiter will continue to fly past Venus on a regular basis to increase its orbital tilt in order to better observe the Sun’s polar regions.

Experts say understanding and imaging the Sun’s polar regions are key to understanding the 11-year cycle of activity.

– .