Solar Orbiter is heading to the Sun in 2019. An important role in the project of the European Space Agency (ESA) plays also the Institute of Plasma Physics.
The
scientific mission is a part of the programme called Cosmic Vision (2015-2025). The main aim of the
mission is a study of the Sun and the inner heliosphere from the immediate distance and therefore
with high resolution.
The key element of the probe
is the METIS solar telescope. It is a
device for studying corona, eruptive processes in corona and solar wind. The
key optical elements of this telescope, e.g. imaging mirrors, were developed and manufactured in
the Czech Republic in the laboratories of the TOPTEC Centre in Turnov, which is a part of the
Institute of Plasma Physics.
You can read more about Solar Orbiter
here (available only in Czech language).
Picture: CAS.
20 Jul 2017
