Manufacturing satellites near the Sun.

Britain will lead the production of SolO closer to Earth than any current satellite.

SolO will have multi-layer thermal protection system.(Source: ESA)

Equipped with telescope, camera, SolO will take pictures and perform measurements from inside Mercury orbit.

The European Space Agency has signed a 300 million euro contract with Astrium UK to produce satellites, expected to launch in 2017.

After being released, SolO will fly at a distance of 42 million kilometers from the Sun, requiring the satellite to have a special layer of protection against heat. Otherwise, the surface temperature will reach 500 degrees C.

Satellite data will help people understand how the Sun impacts the Earth's environment, especially the way the Sun makes and accelerates the flow of charged particles.