NASA's Solar Orbiter expected to reveal more about Sun's environmentPublished: February 14, 2020, 6:15 amThe orbiter is expected to reveal more about the Sun’s environment.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – Europe and NASA's Solar Orbiter rocketed into space Sunday night on an unprecedented mission to capture the first pictures of the sun's elusive poles. Go Solar Orbiter!” said Cesar Garcia Marirrodriga, project manager for the European Space Agency. At its closest approach, Solar Orbiter will come within 26 million miles (42 million kilometers) of the sun, well within the orbit of Mercury. The sun's poles are pockmarked with dark, constantly shifting coronal holes. It took until now, however, for technology to allow elaborate spacecraft like Parker and Solar Orbiter to get close without being fried.