It observes the Sun's atmosphere up close, with high spatial resolution telescopes and compares these observations with measurements taken in the environment directly surrounding the spacecraft – together creating a one-of-a-kind picture of how the Sun can affect the space environment further out in the solar system. 

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Solar Orbiter’s suite of instruments measures solar wind plasma, fields, waves and energetic particles close enough to the Sun to ensure that they are still relatively pristine – helping to provide information on what’s actually streaming off the Sun, before it evolves in interplanetary space.