ESA's Solar Orbiter is another spacecraft visiting the Sun's outer atmosphere in search of answers to scientists' long-lived questions about the star's uncharted polar regions and how they effect our home planet.

"The closest ever images of the Sun, the first ever close-up images of the Sun’s polar regions, measuring the composition of the solar wind and linking it to its area of origin on the Sun’s surface and to find answers to some profound questions: What drives the Sun’s 11-year cycle of rising and subsiding magnetic activity? What heats up the upper layer of its atmosphere, the corona, to millions of degrees Celsius? What drives the generation of the solar wind? What accelerates the solar wind to speeds of hundreds of kilometres per second? And how does it all affect our planet?"

How close will the Solar Orbiter get to the Sun? The minimum distance between the Orbiter and the surface of the Sun is 42 million km (26.1 million miles).

What mass did the Solar Orbiter launch with? 1720 kilograms!

How is the spacecraft protected from extreme conditions created by the Sun? The Orbiter's primary protection is the heat shield, comprised of titanium, carbon fiber, and aluminum. Rotating solar rays face away from the Sun to prevent damage and remote sensors to detect light entry into the Orbiter also promote safety. According to ESA, the Solar Orbiter can withstand temperatures 13 times higher than that of Earth-orbiting satellites!