Ulysses

NASA and ESA have teamed up to send the Ulysses probe to study the heliosphere, the region of space influenced by the Sun and its magnetic field from a polar orbit. The 10 on board instruments measured the particle emissions of the Sun, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays and gamma rays and the magnetic field.

The mission lasted 18 years (1990-2009): the probe used the planet Jupiter in February 1992 to project out of the plane of the ecliptic, a rare maneuver in the space age. She was able to fly over the poles of the Sun. During her journey, she approached the comet Hyakutake in 1996. She has seen two solar cycles.