Solar Orbiter (Credit: European Space Agency) The European Space Orbiter reached its closest approach to the sun Saturday, providing researchers with unprecedented detail.
According to the European Space Agency, the spacecraft passed at about one-third of the sun-Earth distance, or 30 million miles, around 7:50 a.m.
ET. The agency said the spacecraft is now in the orbit of the planet Mercury. The space mission is a project of the European Space Agency in conjunction with NASA.
The spacecraft launched from Florida in February 2020.RELATED: National Air and Space Museum closing for renovations on March 28It is on a 7-year mission to understand the sun and give scientists more insight as to how the sun affects the space environment throughout the solar system.