Winding down from very busy week for SWA on ESA's Solar Orbiter. Got our 1st measurements of solar wind protons from the PAS sensor on Weds, and first electrons from EAS on Thurs. Still much tweaking to do to be ready for science mode proper in a few weeks. HIS sensor next week.

If there’s one thing we should all learn from this pandemic, it’s that #ScienceRocks #StayAtHome #GoScience #WesternU youtube.com/watch?v=3ZYAMn…

Extremely pleased and excited to report that the SWA HIS team have just achieved ‘first light’ for the sensor. All 3 of the SWA scientific sensors have now successfully made measurements of the solar wind passing the ⁦ESA's Solar Orbiter⁩ spacecraft. Congrats to the team!

We submitted this proposal for ESA's Solar Orbiter on Jan 10th 2008 (my birthday!). Today at 1025 BST we achieved the milestone of operating all 3 SWA sensors together in science mode for the first time, somewhere out there inside the orbit of Venus!

In the next few days ESA's Solar Orbiter will pass through the tail of Comet #ATLAS while carrying UCL instruments. Noticed by Prof Geraint Jones Geraint Jones MullardSpaceScience, this is the first unplanned spacecraft comet pass to have been predicted in advance ucl.ac.uk/news/2020/may/…

“I’ve been commanding instruments from a spacecraft the other side of Venus from…..my son’s nursery”. Awesome BBC News (World) interview with my brother Christopher J. Owen describing how he and his team are still managing to do extraordinary science during the #pandemic. youtube.com/watch?v=8gGDN9…

The ESA's Solar Orbiter mission, which is carrying @UCL-built instruments to study the Sun up close, is 77 million km from the Sun's surface, half the distance between Earth and the Sun. No one has ever been closer with a camera! MullardSpaceScience UCLmaps ucl.ac.uk/news/2020/jun/…

More BBC News (UK) from my brother Christopher J. Owen on the ESA's Solar Orbiter's big trip around the sun. Delighted to hear that "mission control" has been moved to my youngest nephew's nursery, tho also concerned that control may end up in the wrong (tiny) pair of hands youtu.be/2g29nYoTwCI

#SolarOrbiter is probably the first spacecraft in history whose instruments were largely commissioned from home. Here Chris Owen, the principal investigator behind SWA, in his #COVID19 home-office, which is actually his son's playroom. Read more: esa.int/ESA_Multimedia… Christopher J. Owen

We had to improvise a lot for commissioning our European Space Agency & ARCHIVED - NASA Sun & Space spacecraft from home! This is a first! Here is Christopher J. Owen using his son’s playroom.

#SolarOrbiter is undoubtedly the first mission whose instruments were completely commissioned from people's homes. Read the full story of commissioning a spacecraft amid #Covid19 . It's been a challenge for all involed, but now, we are ready for science! esa.int/Science_Explor…

How do you operate a spacecraft when its control room has to close? 🛰️ Read the story to find out how one of the most delicate instruments on ESA's Solar Orbiter had to be controlled by a MullardSpaceScience team, led from a two-year old's nursery! 👇 #COVID19

🛰️☀️📷 #TheSunUpClose ⬇️⬇️

Getting ready for my small part in this. I expect some stunning new images from colleagues on the remote sensing teams - and EUI in particular includes a major MullardSpaceScience contribution. But SWA and the other in situ instruments have crucial roles downstream #TheSunUpClose

Plasma composition on the Sun and around the spacecraft, first data and images by ESA's Solar Orbiter European Space Agency NASA #TheSunUpClose

I learnt taking part in the press conference that these campfires are the size of a European country - so I guess we can look forward to sorting how many are Luxembourgs and how many are Germanys? And whether we can detect their effects at ESA's Solar Orbiter! #TheSunUpClose

COVID-19 might have a high recovery rate, but are there any long-term impacts? Neuroscientist Dr. Adrian Owen Prof. Adrian M. Owen OBE, FRS explains the potential impact the virus could have on the brains of patients who tested positive

#ICYMI Our #SolarOrbiter mission just released its first images, revealing never-before seen features on the Sun! Enjoy the stunning views and find out more in these interviews with ESA's Solar Orbiter scientists Daniel Müller & Anik De Groof: esa.int/ESA_Multimedia… #TheSunUpClose

I already have enough trouble with my memory, so I’ll follow my brothers advice and continue to try not to catch the corona virus!

#OTD 1 year ago, European Space Agency/NASA ESA's Solar Orbiter launched on a ULA #AtlasV 411 rocket to study the ☀️ up close! #WeAreAllSolarOrbiters #ExplorationEnabled Relive the launch! 🚀 📸:flickr.com/photos/ulalaun… 📹:youtube.com/watch?v=Em7YbF…