Russian scientists to develop space rover to study the Sun

2011-08-09 10:58:21 GMT+7 (ICT)

MOSCOW, RUSSIA (BNO NEWS) -- Russian scientists are developing a space rover which will conduct studies of the Sun from a closer distance than ever before, the Russian academy of Sciences announced.

The Institute was cited by the Russian news agency Itar-Tass as saying that, along with the country's Federal Space Agency, it will be making final decisions on the rover platform and innards before 2012.

The institute explained that the space rover, which is called Interheliozond, is supposed to fly around the Sun along an orbit smaller than that of Mercury, which is the innermost planet in our solar system. The mission is expected to face extreme difficulties, but it is also expected to open up new perspectives.

As part of the project, the institute has developed a set of three telescopes - a coronagraph, a high-energy X-ray telescope, and an optical heliosphere telescope - which in total weigh approximately 40 kilograms (88.18 pounds).

The institute underlined the importance of the weight, as it is key for the delivery of the payload to orbit. New technologies and materials, such as instruments that used to weigh about 50 kilograms (110 pounds), are changing scientific developments, as these components now weigh from five to ten kilograms (11 to 22 pounds). However, scientists are now facing the issue of developing the rover with the appropriate insulation.

"Practically everything the rover telescopes will see will be new to mankind, such as the Sun's corona observed with the resolution of about 300 kilometers (186 miles)," said Sergei Bogachev, the leading researcher from the institute's Sun X-ray astronomy laboratory.

"The rover will study polar areas of the Sun for the first time ever," he added, as cited by Itar-Tass. "We will take a look at the interplanetary magnetic field, which, in the opinion of modern scientists, has the shape of a spiral centered on the Sun. We will also learn the real trajectory of Sun mass ejections towards the Earth."

The institute noted that the prospective orbit of Interheliozond will be under a hard impact from the Sun, and temperatures will near 600 degrees Celsius (1112 degrees Fahrenheit). Under such temperatures, many metals melt or become flexible, making it of extreme importance to protect key elements of telescopes from the heat.

Furthermore, the conditions will have high levels of radiation and plasma around the rover will be different, as it will have different speed and density of charged particles in the solar wind. These conditions may lead to gradual decay of the majority of known materials.

As a result, the institute underlined the importance of choosing the correct materials and understanding of their response to high temperatures in order for the project to succeed. Bogachev noted that "pioneer projects" such as the Interheliozond presents high risks, but he emphasized that they are also "vital for science."

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-08-09

Darn clever, these Ruskies!

As I suspected all along, they are collaborating with those two Irish blonds who intend to land on the Sun.

They're all going at night.