|
THE
MISSION:
The main scientific goal of the joint ESA-NASA
Ulysses deep-space mission is to make the first-ever
measurements of the unexplored region of space
above the Sun's poles.
ORBIT:
Ulysses is in a heliocentric orbit inclined
at 80o to the ecliptic plane
ACHIEVEMENTS:
Ulysses has conducted the first-ever survey
of the Sun's environment in space from the equator
to the poles, and over a wide range of solar
activity conditions. Key results to date include
the first detailed measurements of the solar
wind from the Sun's polar regions at solar minimum
and solar maximum, the discovery that the magnetic
flux leaving the Sun is the same at all latitudes,
the discovery of energetic particle "reservoirs"
surrounding the Sun, the discovery of interstellar
dust in the solar system, and the first direct
measurements of interstellar helium atoms in
the solar system.
|
