Solar probe

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Artist's concept of NASA's Solar Probe
Artist's concept of NASA's Solar Probe

A solar probe is a space probe that investigates the Sun.

Contents

[edit] NASA Solar Probe

The NASA Solar Probe project[1] is a proposed robotic spacecraft that will approach as close as 7 million kilometers (9 solar radii) from the sun.[2] This project (also known under the name "Solar Probe+", pronounced "Solar Probe Plus") was announced as a new mission start in the fiscal 2009 budget year. On May 1, 2008 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory announced to design and build the spacecraft, on a schedule to launch in 2015[3].

[edit] Scientific goals

  • Determine the structure and dynamics of the magnetic fields at the sources of solar wind.
  • Trace the flow of energy that heats the corona and accelerates the solar wind.
  • Determine what mechanisms accelerate and transport energetic particles.
  • Explore dusty plasma near the sun and its influence on solar wind and energetic particle formation.

[edit] List of solar probes

See List of planetary probes.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Space Times, May/June 2007, page 8.
  2. ^ NASA Plans to Visit the Sun. NASA. Retrieved on 2008-06-13.
  3. ^ M. Buckley (2008-05-01). NASA Calls on APL to Send a Probe to the Sun. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.


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