The sun will undergo the closest scrutiny yet when two new instruments are placed on the European Space Agency's newly selected Solar Orbiter, which is to be launched in 2017.

In cooperation with ESA, NASA will commence the development and testing of two instruments valued at $80 million: The Solar Orbiter Heliospheric Imager to observe violent solar eruptions and the Heavy Ion Sensor that will measure the density, velocity and temperature of the solar wind.

The Solar Orbiter mission will study the sun from a closer distance than any previous mission, NASA said. It will operate approximately 21 million miles from the sun's surface, which is around 25 percent of the distance from the sun to the Earth, thus improving the capability to forecast space weather.

Forecasting space weather is important because it can result to disturbances in electromagnetic fields on Earth that can cause extreme currents in wires, power line disruptions and widespread blackouts. Sun storms can interfere with communications between ground controllers, satellites, and airplanes flying near the Earth poles.

Cell phone services, meanwhile, can be disrupted by radio noise from solar storms.

The spacecraft will be close enough to the sun to be able to sample solar wind as soon as it has been ejected from the sun's surface and observe in detail the process that accelerates the wind on the sun's surface. It will also be able to provide views of the sun's polar regions while the spacecraft's elliptical orbit will be able to follow the rotation of the sun, enabling a more detailed observation of some areas.

"Solar Orbiter is an exciting mission that will improve our understanding of the sun and its environment," said Barbara Giles, director for NASA's Heliophysics Division in Washington. She added that the collaboration between NASA and ESA will create a new chapter in heliophysics research and continue a strong partnership with the international science community to complement future robotic and human exploration activities.