Too Close To The Heat
Closer… And closer… A very close look at all angles of the space equipment!
Currently, there are four known solar satellites orbiting the Sun - NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, NASA’s Solar Orbiter, Solar-C owned by the Japanese National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, and NASA’s and ESA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO).
NASA's Parker Solar Probe
NASA's Solar Orbiter
ESA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)
Get a sneak peak of Solar-C at the History page
And now, here’s the closest you can get to the Sun.
Curious on what goes on behind the scenes in heliophysics research and development? Most of the action happens at…
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center - Heliophysics Science Division!
Named after American rocketry pioneer Dr. Robert H. Goddard, and established on May 1, 1959 in Greenbelt, Maryland, it is NASA's first space flight complex critical in carrying out missions relating to space exploration and scientific discovery. It is home to the nation's largest organisation of scientists, engineers, and technologists who specialise in building spacecraft, instruments, and new technologies to study the Earth, the sun, the solar system, and the universe.
Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, work did not grind to a halt, but instead burst forth to complete the construction of the center’s Instrument Development Facility. It will house much of Goddard’s production of spaceflight hardware, planetary environments research, and mass spectrometry instrument development at low environmental footprints.
So now, instead of travelling all the way there to explore, here are virtual 360^o videos on Goddard!
Note : for a full virtual tour, please visit here.
See the value of the Sun data for life on Earth, back at "Data : Ablaze With Information"!