nasa has finalised an ambitious mission to send a spacecraft closer to the sun than ever before the solar probe plus will carry four experiments into the corona and study the solar wind and energetic particles as they blast off the surface of the star  during the closest passes around the sun, temperatures outside the spacecraft will reach nearly 2,500 degrees fahrenheit scroll down for video  solar probe plus will carry four instrument suites into the corona and study the solar wind and energetic particles as they blast off the surface of the star the launch window opens for 20 days starting on july 31, 2018 over 24 orbits, the mission will use seven flybys of venus to reduce its distance from the sun the closest three will be just 38 million miles from the surface of the star solar probe plus is scheduled to launch aboard a united launch alliance delta 4 heavy rocket with an upper stage from cape canaveral air force station, florida the launch window opens for 20 days starting on july 31, 2018 over 24 orbits, the mission will use seven flybys of venus to reduce its distance from the sun the closest three will be just 38 million miles from the surface of the star scientists have long wanted to send a probe through the sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, to better understand the solar wind and the material it carries into our solar system the primary science goals for the solar probe plus mission are to trace the flow of energy and understand the heating of the solar corona and to explore the physical mechanisms that accelerate the solar wind and energetic particles to meet those objectives, solar probe plus will carry four instrument suites into the corona and study the solar wind and energetic particles as they blast off the surface of the star these instruments will study magnetic fields, plasma, and energetic particles, and will image the solar wind the spacecraft and instruments will be protected from the sun’s heat by a 45 inch thick carbon composite shield during the closest passes around the sun, temperatures outside the spacecraft will reach nearly 2,500 degrees fahrenheit how it will get there: over 24 orbits, the mission will use seven flybys of venus to reduce its distance from the sun the small car sized spacecraft will plunge directly into the sun's atmosphere approximately four million miles from our star's surface it will explore a region no other spacecraft ever has encountered the mission   which will fly closer to the sun than any spacecraft has before   reached a major milestone last month when it successfully completed its critical design review, or cdr an independent nasa review board met at the johns hopkins university applied physics laboratory, or apl, in laurel, maryland, march 16 20, 2015, to review all aspects of the mission plan apl has designed and will build and operate the spacecraft for nasa the cdr certifies that the solar probe plus mission design is at an advanced stage and that fabrication, assembly, integration and testing of the many elements of the mission may proceed solar probe plus will carry four instrument suites into the corona and study the solar wind and energetic particles as they blast off the surface of the star these instruments will study magnetic fields, plasma, and energetic particles, and will image the solar wind wide field imager: principal investigator, russell howard, naval research laboratory in washington this telescope will make 3 d images of the sun's corona, or atmosphere the experiment will also provide 3 d images of the solar wind and shocks as they approach and pass the spacecraft this investigation complements instruments on the spacecraft providing direct measurements by imaging the plasma the other instruments sample fields experiment: principal investigator, stuart bale, university of california space sciences laboratory in berkeley, calif this investigation will make direct measurements of electric and magnetic fields, radio emissions, and shock waves that course through the sun's atmospheric plasma the experiment also serves as a giant dust detector, registering voltage signatures when specks of space dust hit the spacecraft's antenna integrated science investigation of the sun: principal investigator, david mccomas of the southwest research institute in san antonio this investigation consists of two instruments that will monitor electrons, protons and ions that are accelerated to high energies in the sun's atmosphere heliospheric origins with solar probe plus: principal investigator, marco velli of nasa's jet propulsion laboratory in pasadena, calif velli is the mission's observatory scientist, responsible for serving as a senior scientist on the science working group he will provide an independent assessment of scientific performance and act as a community advocate for the mission
diffident crosscurrent 2,500 degrees fahrenheit
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