Study of sun’s poles is near end
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Ulysses, the mission to study the sun’s poles and the influence of our star on surrounding space, is coming to an end.
After more than 17 years in space -- almost four times its originally expected lifetime -- the mission is succumbing to its harsh environment and is likely to finish sometime in the next month or two, astronomers said Friday.
A joint mission of the European Space Agency and NASA, Ulysses was launched in 1990 from a space shuttle. Ulysses is in a six-year orbit around the sun. Its long path through space carries it out to Jupiter’s orbit and back again.
The farther it ventures from the sun, the colder the spacecraft becomes. Because its heaters have stopped working, the spacecraft’s hydrazine fuel will freeze.
