Solar Probe Ulysses May Get Longer Life


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A diagram of Ulysses' path around the sun. Click to enlarge.

The Ulysses spacecraft, as seen after deployment from the space shuttle in 1990. Click to enlarge.

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	Solar Probe Ulysses May Get Longer Life By Maia Weinstock Staff Writer posted: 07:00 am ET 15 June 2000 ET

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Things are looking bright for the sun-orbiting Ulysses spacecraft.

This week, officials at the European Space Agency (ESA) announced the approval of additional funding for the probe, which is currently in orbit around our nearest star. The extension calls for Ulysses operations to continue for 33 months (two years, nine months) beyond its present tour of duty.

However, since the Ulysses mission is a joint ESA/NASA endeavor, final okay for an extension is on hold until NASA officials also approve funding. NASA has already announced financial backing for Ulysses until December 2002.

"We are delighted that [ESAs Science Programme Committee] has approved the extension," said Richard Mardsen, ESAs Ulysses Project Scientist. "We are now looking forward to a positive decision by NASA."

NASAs decision on whether or not to extend Ulysses life to ESAs suggested date of September 2004 is expected in mid-2001.

Ulysses, one of the ESAs most successful missions, has been studying the sun since its deployment into space on October 6, 1990. An extended mission would give scientists data for a full solar cycle, an 11-year period of variable levels of solar activity, which is marked by -- among other things -- an increase in the number of sun spots and solar wind storms. This year, the sun is at the high point of its cycle, spewing many more charged particles into space than usual.

An extension for Ulysses would also allow the craft to complete two full orbits around the solar poles. The first scientific probe to study the suns poles, Ulysses orbits the sun perpendicular to the ecliptic, a plane that contains most of the solar systems planets, including Earth.

In 10 years, the spacecraft has given scientists remarkable data about the suns heliosphere, a shell containing solar particles that may extend to nearly 9.3 billion miles (14.5 billion kilometers) away from the sun. Being able to study the heliosphere at a time of high solar activity will give scientists a deeper understanding of how the sun operates.