The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Gouddard Space Flight Center explained the overview of its Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) solar conjunction in preparation for the upcoming mission.

In a video from YouTube, NASA STEREO Project Scientist Joe German explained that STREO is a NASA mission consisting of two spacecrafts orbiting the sun and orbiting inside and outside the Earth with the aim of learning more about solar activities and its propagation in the heliosphere. The STEREO spacecrafts have been providing scientists with exceptional observations from the sun's far side since February 2011.

The scientist explained that over the next one and half year, STEREO mission will embark on superior solar conjunction which will continue to collect data from the sun 24 hours a day. During this time, one of the space craft collecting the data from the far side of the sun will be affected by the sun's heat. The STEREO antenna which is used to send data to the Earth will be exposed to more heat than its safe capability.

Beginning on Aug. 20, 2014, the antenna for the STEREO-Ahead spacecraft will be adjusted to a different angle using the side lobes instead of the main lobes but the spacecraft will gather lower resolution images than the usual. Antenna adjustment for the STEREO-Behind spacecraft will be done on Dec. 1, 2014.

Scientist German further explained that during this time of antenna adjustments, there will be not much data download from the spacecrafts since the signal from the Earth will be much fainter than the usual. Whenever there is a need to collect data from the STEREO spacecrafts, the signal will be linked up with an Earth receiver but the rest of the data will just be stored at the spacecrafts until such time that these will reach more favourable geometrical position come early 2016. By then STEREO normal operation on the main lobe of the space crafts will already resume.

Scientists from NASA will then have continuous and real-time download of data coming from the two STEREO spacecrafts. The scientists believed that the STEREO mission is the only link from the Earth to the sun's far side. The information generated from the sun flares and mass ejections will be utilised to continuously forecast the space weather.

Watch the overview of NASA STEREO Solar Conjunction from YouTube.

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