Article Posted on : - Jul 06, 2010

MOSCOW (BNS): Russia is planning to send its solar probe 'Intergeliozond' to study the Sun from a closer distance after 2015, a top official of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) has said.

“Project 'Intergeliozond' – a study of the Sun – is not from Earth's orbit, but at a closer distance when approaching the Sun.

“The project is planned no earlier than 2015, perhaps even later,” Lev Zeleny, Director of RAS, was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency on Monday.

Scientists are working on the project which has been included in the Russian Federal Space Programme, Zeleny said."We are discussing the details of the flight path of the satellite," he said.

The specially designed Intergeliozond will be launched by a Soyuz-2 rocket. The spacecraft will consist of orbital and migratory module systems necessary for the functioning of the satellite at all stages of the flight heat shield and propulsion system that provides necessary correction on the stage flight to the Sun.

The spacecraft will execute a gravitation manoeuver near Venus to enter the solar orbit at a perigee of 42 million kilometers. Subsequent gravitation manoeuvers will reduce the perigee to 21 million kilometers.

The satellite will study several facets of the Sun, including solar corona, solar wind, the polar regions of the Sun and the heliosphere.