Solar Probe Mission Planning Underway

SOLAR PROBE PLUS is a planned robotic spacecraft to probe the outer corona of the sun. The mission design is to come within 8.5 solar radii (0.04 astronomical units or 5.9 million kilometers or 3.67 million miles) to the surface of the sun with advancved scientific instruments. On May 1, 2008 Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory announced to design and build the spacecraft, on a schedule to launch in July 2018.

THE PRIMARY SCIENTIFIC MISSION of SOLAR PROBE PLUS is to determine: 1] the structure and dynamics of the magnetic fields at the sources of solar wind; 2] trace the flow of energy that heats the corona and accelerates the solar wind; 3] determine what mechanisms accelerate and transport energetic particles; 4] explore dusty plasma near the sun and its influence on solar wind and energetic particle formation. It will be the first mission to a star in an unprecedented effort to unlock the Sun's biggest mysteries, with the primary mission beginning in late December 2024.