Scientists have studied the disasters of the SOHO solar mission and the discovery of 5,000 comets.

The joint project of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), launched on December 2, 1995, was planned for two years, but the mission lasted for 30 years and became one of the longest-term. This was reported on December 3 by Science Daily magazine.

Since launch, the mission has provided almost continuous monitoring of solar activity. According to ESA's Director of Science, Professor Carol Mandell, this project has exceeded all expectations. She clarified that this speaks not only about the professionalism of the specialists, but also about international cooperation.

"The SOHO mission is a perfect example of the incredible partnership between NASA and ESA. Congratulations to the NASA and ESA teams on thirty years of wonderful collaboration," added Niki Fox, Deputy Administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington.

ESA's SOHO and Solar Orbiter project Scientist Danielle Muller, in turn, called the mission a pioneer in new areas of solar science. According to her, the project changes all the rules of the game in the study of space weather, providing real-time monitoring of the Sun to predict potentially dangerous storms heading for Earth. The specialist emphasized that the mission continues to provide high-quality data to this day and maintains high scientific productivity.

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Despite the achievements, the mission path was not always smooth. As specified, about 2.5 years after launch, the spacecraft had a serious malfunction that sent it into an uncontrollable tailspin and cut off communication with Earth. They searched for the object and tried to bring it back to life for three months. Another setback occurred in November and December 1998, when the stabilizing gyroscopes failed. Subsequently, new software was developed, and by 1999 the device could work without them.

However, one of the mission's unpredictable successes was the discovery of 5,000 comets. The last of this number was opened in March 2024. Thanks to the use of the SOHO wide-angle spectrometric coronagraph (LASCO), it has also become the main instrument for observing "sun-like" comets. They became visible precisely because of the mission's tools.

SOHO continues to influence the design and objectives of new solar observatories such as the Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar Probe. The project also promotes open data and international cooperation in the field of solar physics.

"SOHO is a brilliant success in every way thanks to the dedication of the teams who keep this incredible machine running. His scientific achievements remain valuable and relevant, serving generations of scientists, and I am confident that his legacy will continue to define the development of solar science for decades to come," said Muller.

Earlier, on December 1, the Laboratory of Solar Astronomy at the Institute of Space Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IKI RAS) reported the appearance of the largest complex of spots on the Sun this year. According to experts, this can be a source of tremendous energy, possibly for a super explosion.

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