ESA's solar orbiter will encounter space debris before heading towards the sun

The European Space Agency's (ESA) solar probe is about to head towards the sun, however, a challenge awaits it as the probe inches closer to the Earth. On November 27, the spacecraft will make a close flyby through Earth which the scientists are calling a 'risky' one. The probe was launched in February 2020 for a deeper study of the sun and is nearing Earth as the manoeuvre is essential to decrease the energy of the spacecraft and line it up for its next close pass of the sun. 

ESA waved off its spacecraft in search of answers to questions like how solar winds are formed and what causes their acceleration and what happens in the polar regions of the sun. 

Vast space debris awaits the probe

The flyby is being endorsed as a risky one as the probe will pass through Earth at a distance of just 460 km above North Africa and the Canary Islands. It is almost the same altitude where the International Space Station (ISS) revolves and is filled with space debris. According to the ESA, the probe will pass through two orbital regions where the first is the geostationary ring of satellites at 36,000 km, and the second is the collection of low Earth orbits at around 400 km. Scientists fear that there is a chance of the probe's collision with debris pieces. However, the ESA stated,

Solar Orbiter’s operations team are monitoring the situation very closely and will alter the spacecraft’s trajectory if it appears to be in any danger.

The bright side of the flyby

Although the flyby does face some risks, scientists believe that offers a unique opportunity to study the Earth’s magnetic field. Besides, the passage will also mark a major milestone for the orbiter that was in its commissioning phase from February to July 2020. Since July, the orbiter has been in the cruise phase and scientists have tested its in-situ and remote sensing instruments to take measurements of the solar wind and other conditions around the spacecraft. 

As per the ESA, the spacecraft will make its close flyby to the sun in March next year. Its last close pass to the sun occurred in June 2020, with the spacecraft closing to 77 million kilometres. Interestingly, it will reach within 50 million kilometres, which would provide a boost to science, scientists say. 

Image: Twitter/@ESASolarOrbiter