NASA plans historic launch for mission to the Sun on February 9th

A historic launch from Cape Canaveral is scheduled to take place on Sunday, February 9th at 11:03 pm EST.

The Solar Orbiter, which is a collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency, will be launched on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V Rocket which if successful, will use gravity from Earth and Venus to swing itself towards the Sun's equator, where all planets orbit.

This mission will use the Orbiter's bird's eye view to give the first ever pictures of the Sun's north and south poles. In order to endure all that heat, the Orbiter has a custom designed titanium shield with a calcium phosphate coating that can deal with temperatures of over 900 degrees Fahrenheit. The Orbiter will work together with the Parker Solar Probe, which was launched in August of 2018. As Parker gets a close up sample of solar particles, the Orbiter will be farther away getting observational pictures. They will also align occasionally to measure the same magnetic field lines or solar wind streams.

This mission will last about seven years with the closest approach being within 26 million miles of the Sun.

You can learn more about this mission by checking out this video here: