Solar Probes
While the Sun is not physically explorable with current technology, the following solar observation probes have been designed and launched to operate in heliocentric orbit or at one of the Earth–Sun Lagrangian points – additional solar observatories were placed in Earth-orbiting and are not included in this list:
| Spacecraft | Organization | Date | Type | Status | Notes | Image | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pioneer 5 | NASA/ DOD |
March–April 1960 | orbiter | success | measured magnetic field phenomena, solar flare particles, and ionization in the interplanetary region | |||
| Pioneer 6 | NASA | December 1965 – still contactable in 2000 | orbiter | success | network of solar-orbiting "space weather" monitors, observing solar wind, cosmic rays, and magnetic fields | |||
| Pioneer 7 | NASA | August 1966 – still contactable in 1995 | orbiter | success | ||||
| Pioneer 8 | NASA | December 1967 – still contactable in 2001 | orbiter | success | ||||
| Pioneer 9 | NASA | November 1968 – May 1983 | orbiter | success | ||||
| Pioneer-E | NASA | 27 August 1969 | orbiter | failure | intended as part of the Pioneer 6–9 network; failed to reach orbit | |||
| Helios A | NASA/ BWF |
November 1974 – 1982 | orbiter | success | observations of solar wind, magnetic and electric fields, cosmic rays and cosmic dust between Earth and Sun | |||
| Helios B | NASA/ BWF |
January 1976 – 1985? | orbiter | success | ||||
| ISEE-3 | NASA | 1978–1982 | orbiter | success | observed solar phenomena in conjunction with earth-orbiting ISEE-1 and ISEE-2; later renamed International Cometary Explorer (ICE) and directed to Comet Giacobini-Zinner | |||
| Ulysses (first pass) |
ESA/ NASA |
1994 | orbiter | success | south polar observations | |||
| 1995 | north polar observations | |||||||
| WIND | NASA | November 1994 — still returning data (as of December 2010) | orbiter | success | solar wind measurements | |||
| SOHO | ESA/ NASA |
May 1996 – mission extended until at least December 2012 | orbiter | success | investigation of Sun's core, corona, and solar wind; comet discoveries | |||
| ACE | NASA | August 1997 – still returning data (as of December 2010) | orbiter | success | solar wind observations | |||
| Ulysses (second pass) |
ESA/ NASA |
2000 | orbiter | success | south polar observations | |||
| 2001 | north polar observations | |||||||
| Genesis | NASA | 2001–2004 | orbiter/ sample return |
success | solar wind sample return; crash landed on return to Earth, much data salvaged | |||
| STEREO A | NASA | December 2006 – still active (as of December 2010) | orbiter | success | stereoscopic imaging of coronal mass ejections and other solar phenomena | |||
| STEREO B | NASA | December 2006 – still active (as of December 2010) | orbiter | success | ||||
| Ulysses (third pass) |
ESA/ NASA |
2007 | orbiter | success | south polar observations | |||
| 2008 | partial success | north polar observations; some data returned despite failing power and reduced transmission capacity | ||||||
| Solar Sentinels | NASA | 2015 | multi-probe orbiter | planned | six probes watching the sun | |||
| Solar Probe Plus | NASA | 2015 | orbiter | under study | close-range coronal observations | |||
| Solar Orbiter | ESA | 2017 | orbiter | planned | close-range solar observations | |||
| Intergelio-Zond | RKA | 2019 | orbiter | planned | close-range solar observations | |||
Read more about this topic: List Of Solar System Probes
Famous quotes containing the word solar:
“Our civilization has decided ... that determining the guilt or innocence of men is a thing too important to be trusted to trained men.... When it wants a library catalogued, or the solar system discovered, or any trifle of that kind, it uses up its specialists. But when it wishes anything done which is really serious, it collects twelve of the ordinary men standing round. The same thing was done, if I remember right, by the Founder of Christianity.”
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)